^2.-^ 


:2~r~   ^ 


or  THE 

Theological   Seminary, 

PRINCETON,    N.  J. 


BV  2060  .H34  1842  c.l 
Harris,  John,  1802-1856. 
The  great  commission 


M        ♦-• 


BY 

THE    REV.    JOHN    HARRIS,    D.D., 

PUBLISHED  Bl' 

GOULD,  KENDALL  &  LINCOLN,  BOSTON. 


I. 
THE   GREAT   TEACHER: 

OR,  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  OUR  LORD'S  MINISTRY. 

With  an  Introductory  Essay,  by  Heman  Husiphret,  D.D., 

President  of  Amherst  College. 

II. 

MAMMON: 

OR,  COVETOUSNESS  THE  SIN  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN 

CHURCH. 

A  Prize  Essay. 

III. 

UNION: 

OR,  THE  DIVIDED   CHURCH  MADE  ONE. 
IV. 

ZEBULON: 

OR,   THE   CONDITION   AND    CLAIMS   OF   SAILORS. 

The  Prize  Essay,  written  for  the  British  and  Foreign 

Sailors'  Society.     American  Edition,  edited  by 

Rev.  W.  M.  Rogers  and  D.  M.  Lord. 

V. 

THE  WITNESSING  CHURCH: 

32mo.,  cloth. 


THE 


GREAT    COMMISSION. 


THE 


CIEEAT   COMMISSION: 


OR,   THE 


CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  CONSTITUTED  AND  CHARGED  TO   CONVEY 
THE   GOSPEL   TO   THE   WORLD.      . 


THE  REV.  JOHN  HARRIS,  D.D., 

President  of  Cheshunt  College, 

AUTHOR  OF   '' MAMMON,"    "  THE  GREAT  TEACHER,"   &C. 


AN    INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY, 

BY 

WILLIAM  R.  WILLIAMS,  D.D., 

Pastor  of  the  Amity  Street  Church,  Neio  York. 


BOSTON: 

GOULD,    KENDALL    AND    LINCOLN, 

59   WASHINGTON    STREET. 

1842, 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1842, 

By  GOULD,  KENDALL  &  LINCOLN, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


'  '  x 


^  PHiHCSTC 


-^    ■♦^    W    v.f   .. 


PREFATORY  NOTICE 


THE    ADJUDICATORS 


To  the  mind  of  the  Christian  philanthropist,  no  subject  can 
possess  a  deeper  interest  than  the  state  and  prospects  of  the 
world,  in  relation  to  the  Gospel  of  Christ:  its  state — as  presenting, 
in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  so 
painfully  mysterious  an  extent  of  ignorance,  ungodliness,  and 
misery; — its  prospects, — as  assured,  by  the  promises  of  the  God 
of  truth  and  mercy,  of  an  approaching  period  of  universal 
knowledge,  love,  purity,  and  happiness.  Estimating  the  value 
of  means  by  the  value  of  the  end  to  M'hich  they  are  subservient, 
the  subject  of  Missions  to  the  heathen,  for  the  subversion  of  false 
religions  by  the  diffusion  and  Divine  power  of  the  true,  cannot 
fail  to  hold  a  place  pre-eminently  high,  in  the  minds  of  all  who 
fear  God,  love  the  Saviour,  and  desire  the  good  of  their  race. 

Influenced  by  such  convictions  and  feelings,  '*  a  few  friends  of 
the  Missionary  Enterprise  in  Scotland,"  connected  with  the 
Scottish  Establishment,  but  modestly  concealing  their  names, 
formed  the  purpose,  between  three  and  four  years  ago,  of 
attempting  the  infusion  of  fresh  spirit  into  the  benevolent  exer- 


Vlll  PREFATORY    NOTICE  C^ 

tions  of  the  Christian  church  at  large,  for  the  speedier  evangeli- 
zation of  the  world,  by  inviting  a  "friendly  competition"  of 
talent  and  piety,  in  the  production  of  a  work  less  ephemeral 
than  "  the  many  excellent  sermons,  tracts,  and  pamphlets, 
which,  during  the  last  forty  years,  have  appeared  on  the  subject 
of  Missions  to  the  Heathen."  With  this  view,  these  unknown 
jthilaiUhropists  qfferejd^^  Hundred  Guineas  for 

the  best,  and  another  prize  of  Fifty  Guineas  for  the  second 
best,  Essay  on  The  Duty,  Privilege,  and  Encourage- 
ment OF  Christians  to  send  the  Gospel  of  Salva- 
tion to  the  unenlightened  Nations  of  the  Earth. 
The  competition  was  understood  to  be  confined  within  the  limits 
of  the  United  Kingdom.  The  extension  of  it  to  America  was 
subsequently  suggested,  but  the  suggestion,  by  whatever  consid- 
erations recommended,  came  too  late  to  admit  of  its  being 
honorably  adopted. 

The  proposals  issued  were  commended  to  public  notice  and 
Christian  interest,  by  the  signatures  of  three  eminent  ministers 
of  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland — of  whom  one  has  since 
gone  hence  to  receive  the  reward  of  a  faithful  servant — the 
Rev.  Dr.  Chalmers,  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  M'Gill,  and  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Duff.  The  Essays  (with  the  usual  precautions  for  the  conceal- 
ment of  the  writers'  names)  were  to  be  submitted  to  the  exam- 
ination of^ Jive  adjudicators,  selected,  on  a  principle  of  honorable 
liberality,  from  those  bodies  of  Christians  with  which  stood 
associated  the  principal  Missionary  Institutions, — the  two  Estab- 
lished Churches  of  Scotland  and  England,  the  Wesleyan  Metho- 
dists, the  Independents,  and  the  ^aptists.  Forty-two  Essays 
were  received,  differing  very  widely  indeed  in  character  and 
claims;  from  some  of  an  inferior  order,  rising  through  higher 
degrees  in  the  scale  of  merit,  to  a  considerable  number  of 
sterling  excellence.  Between  several  of  these  the  Adjudicators 
found  no  little  difficulty  in  coming  to  a  decision;  nor  did  they 
ultimately  arrive  at  perfect  unanimity.     The  Essay  which  is  now 


BY   THE    ADJUDICATORS.  IX 

presented  to  the  public,  the  production  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John 
Harris,  of  Cheshunt  College,  was,  after  hesitation  and  cor- 
respondence, placed  first  by  four  Adjudicators  out  of  the  five; 
and,  by  the  same  majority,  the  second  place  was  assigned  to  the 
Essay  which  has  found  for  its  claimant  the  Rev.  Richard 
Winter  Hamilton,  of  Leeds. 

By  one  of  the  Adjudicators  the  first  place  was  given  to  a 
different  fessay  from  either  of  these;  which  also,  in  the  judgment 
of  more  than  one  of  the  rest,  competed  strongly  for  the  second, 
as  a  treatise  of  great  excellence.  In  these  circumstances,  the 
Committee,  desirous  to  give  the  cause  every  possible  advantage, 
resolved  on  offering  a  distinct  premium  to  its  Author, — subse- 
quently discovered  to  be  the  Rev.  John  Macfarlane,  Min- 
ister of  the  parish  of  Collessie,  Fife;  and,  under  their  sanction, 
with  the  generous  concurrence  of  the  two  successful  competitors, 
and  with  the  lecommendation  of  such  of  the  Adjudicators  as  felt 
themselves  at  liberty  to  give  it,  this  Essay  too  will  be  published. 

The  Adjudicators,  influenced  in  their  decision  by  the  sentiment, 
arrangement,  style,  and  comprehensiveness  of  the  Essays,  and 
by  their  general  adaptation  to  the  avowed  object  of  the  projec- 
tors of  the  Prize,  have  given  that  decision  in  foro  conscientice; 
and  they  now  leave  it,  so  far  as  opportunity  for  judgment  is 
aflTorded,  to  the  tribunal  of  public  opinion.  They  consider  it 
necessary,  at  the  same  time,  to  add,  that  having  selected  the 
Essays  which  appeared  to  them  the  best,  they  are  by  no  means 
to  be  understood  as,  either  collectively  or  individually,  testifying 
approval  of  every  view  of  opinion  of  their  respective  Authors. 

An  apology  is  due,  especially  to  the  Essayists,  for  the  long, 
and  what  to  them  must  have  been  the  somewhat  vexatious  delay 
on  the  part  of  the  Adjudicators,  in  delivering  their  decision. 
Such  apology  they  deem  it  sufficient  thus  to  offer,  on  behalf  of 
themselves,  and  of  the  Committee,  without  attempting  any  de- 
tail of  explanation,  how  satisfactory  soever  such  detail  might  be 
rendered. 


X       PREFATORY  NOTICE  BY  THE  ADJUDICATORS. 

It  now  only  remains  that  they  breathe  a  united  and  fervent 
prayer  for  the  success  of  this  endeavor  to  advance  the  glory  of 
God,  and  the  happiness  and  salvation  of  men;  a  prayer  in  which 
they  invite  their  fellow-Christians  of  every  denomination  to  join, 
— that  the  present  Essay,  as  well  as  such  others  as  may  pass 
through  the  press,  may,  under  the  providence  of  the  Divine 
Head  of  the  Church,  contribute  to  the  further  excitement  of  his 
people's  zeal  in  this  highest  and  best  of  causes;  and  so  may 
accelerate  the  arrival  of  that  happy  period,  when  his  own  gra- 
cious and  faithful  assurance,  confirmed  with  his  oath,  and  preg- 
nant with  so  vast  an  amount  of  blessing  to  mankind,  shall  obtain 
its  full  realization, — "As  surely  as  I  live,  all  the  earth  shall  be 
filled  with  my  glory." 


^.^^^^4^ 


*'^^/  /i^i^^^ 


:otU  -^ 


PREFACE. 


If  the  writer  may  be  allowed  to  engage  the  attention  of 
his  readers  for  a  moment  before  they  enter  on  the  perusal 
of  the  following  pages,  his  only  aim  in  so  doing  will  be  to 
facilitate  that  perusal. 

Of  course,  his  first  object  in  preparing  this  Essay^has 
been  to  comply  with  the  requirements  of  the  advertisement, 
which  has,  indirectly  at  least,  occasioned  its  existence. 
His  compliance  with  these,  however,  has  not  prevented 
him  from  aiming  at  a  point  higher  still ;  rather,  it  has 
formed  the  proper  and  natural  ascent  to  it.  That  aim,  he 
trusts,  has  imprinted  its  character,  more  or  less  visibly,  on 
every  portion  of  his  work.  He  would  briefly  describe  it 
as  threefold  —  an  endeavor  to  show  that  the  church  of 
Christ  is  aggressive  and  missionary  in  its  very  constitution 
and  design  :  its  "  field  is  the  world  ;"  that  it  is  to  look  on  the 
whole  of  this  field  as  one;  not  regarding  the  claims  of  any 
particular  portion  as  inimical  to  the  interests  of  any  other; 


XU  PREFACE. 

but  viewing  the  Divine  command  which  obliges  it  to  seek 
the  salvation  of  any  one  individual,  or  the  evangelization 
of  any  one  country,  as  binding  it  to  attempt  the  recovery 
of  the  whole  world  :  but  that,  in  order  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  high  design,  more  is  necessary  than  mere 
activity  —  that  the  entire  consecration  of  all  its  resources 
is,  for  obvious  reasons,  made  indispensable  to  success. 

With  this  view,  he  has  attempted  to  fill  up  the  following 
outline.  In  the  First  Part,  consisting  of  three  chapters, 
his  object  has  been  to  state  and  explain  the  Scripture 
Theory  of  Christian  instrumentality;  to  show,  by  a  general 
examination  of  the  Word  of  God,  that  this  theory  is  there 
prescribed  and  made  imperative;  and  that  the  same  Divine 
authority  predicts  and  promises  its  triumph  in  the  conver- 
sion of  the  w^orld.  Thus,  if  the  first  chapter  states  the 
plan  by  which  all  the  holy  influences  of  the  past  should 
have  been  collected,  multiplied,  and  combined;  the  second 
exhibits  and  enforces  the  obligation  of  the  present  to  that 
entire  consecration  which  the  plan  supposes;  and  the  third 
engages  that  such  consecration  shall  certainly  issue  in  the 
future  and  universal  erection  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 
Having  thus,  in  the  First  Part,  viewed  the  Missionary 
Enterprise,  generally,  in  its  relations  to  the  Word  of  God, 
the  writer  has  proceeded,  in  the  Second  Part,  to  exhibit 
the  hcnejits  arising  from  Christian  Missions,  with  the  view 
of  still  farther  illustrating  and  enforcing  their  claims. 
This  he  has  done  in  four  chapters;  the  first  of  which 
contains  an  historical  sketch  of  the  diffusion  of  Christianity, 
and  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  modern  Missions,  with  a 


PREFACE.  Xlll 

Statistical  summary  of  their  present  state  :*  the  second 
enumerates  the  leading  temporal  and  spiritual  benefits 
accruing  to  the  heathen  from  Missionary  operations ;  the 
third  describes  their  reflex  advantages,  temporal  and  spir- 
itual ;  and  the  fourth  shows  that  the  History  and  Effects 
of  the  Missionary  Enterprise  illustrate  every  view  of  the 
Theory  of  Christian  influence  contained  in  the  First 
Part;  and  supply  a  powerful  inducement  to  the  increase  of 
Missionary  zeal.  The  Third  Part  exhibits  the  various 
sources  of  encouragement  —  historical,  and  politicaJ, 
moral,  ecclesiastical,  and  evangelical  —  which  urge  and 
animate  Christians  to  advance  in  their  Missionary  career. 
In  the  Fourth  Part,  he  has  endeavored  to  show  that  every 
objection  to  their  course  becomes,  when  rightly  considered, 
an  argument  to  redouble  their  efforts.  But  the  Fifth  Part 
ascertains  the  existence  of  a  great  defect  —  of  the  want  of 
that  entireness  of  consecration  to  their  Missionary  office 
which  is  indispensable  to  complete  success;  and  points  out 
the  various  requisites  which  such  consecration  includes, 
and  would  infallibly  supply.  While  the  Sixth  Part  en- 
forces the  principal  Motives  which  should  induce  their 
entire  devotedness  to  the  great  objects  of  the  Missionary 
Enterprise. 

*  Perhaps  the  reader,  unacquainted  with  the  fact,  ought  to 
be  informed  that  the  "Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,"  which  is 
frequently  appealed  to  in  this  part  of  the  work,  was  given  before 
a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  by  the  Secretaries  of  the 
Church  Missionary  Society,  the  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society,  and 
London  Missionary  Society,  and  by  other  competent  witnesses. 
2 


XIV  PREFACE. 

Such,  indeed,  is  the  surpassing  grandeur  of  the  object 
of  Christian  Missions,  as  to  render  any  thing  like  justice 
to  its  merits  impossible.  Yet  the  writer  feels  humbled 
that  the  present  contribution  should  fall  so  far  short,  even 
of  his  own  conception,  of  what  such  a  work  might  and 
ought  to  be.  He  is  proportionally  delighted,  therefore, 
that  since  it  was  submitted  for  competent  adjudication,  so 
many  able  works  on  Missions  should  have  issued  from  the 
press  as  to  render  specification  difficult;  and,  especially, 
that,  besides  having  for  its  precursor  the  very  seasonable 
and  powerful  production  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Campbell, 
it  should  be  accompanied,  or  speedily  followed,  by  the 
publications  of  his  well  known,  able,  and  beloved  friend, 
the  Rev.  R.  W.  Hamilton,  of  Leeds;  and  of  the  Rev. 
John  M'Farlane. 

Evident  as  it  is  that  a  crisis  in  the  Missionary  Enter- 
prise approaches  —  a  crisis  created  partly  by  its  successes 
abroad,  and  by  its  reflex  operation  in  calling  into  exis- 
tence other  societies  at  home,  which  divide  with  it  the 
contributions  of  the  faithful  —  his  earnest  prayer  to  God  is, 
that  this  Essay,  in  connexion  with  those  of  his  Christian 
brethren  referred  to,  may  be  among  the  means  employed 
to  convert  that  crisis  into  a  blessing  —  the  commencement 
of  a  new  era  of  Missionary  prosperity. 

Cheshunt  College, 
Feb.  12th,  1842. 


i.  THSOLOQIO^^  '^ 


PART    I. 


THE  MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE  VIEWED   GENER- 
ALLY IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE  SCRIPTURE  THEORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY  FOR 
THE  CONVERSION  OF  THE  WORLD,  STATED  AND  EXPLAINED. 

I.  Mutual  dependence  and  influence,  the  law  of  the  universe.  II.  Its  perversion 
by  sin.  IH.  Its  restoration  by  Christ.  IV.  The  plan  of  its  operation  in 
the  Christian  Church  for  the  recovery  of  the  world.  1.  How  it  begins  with 
the  individual  convert— 2.  Proceeds  through  him  to  the  formation  of  a  par- 
ticular Church— 3.  Leads  to  the  formation  of  other  Churches,  and  unites  the 
whole  in  one  body — 4.  The  Spirit  preceding  and  pervading  it  to  give  it  effect. 

V.  In  this  organization,  every  thing  becomes  an  element  of  influence,  congenial 
with  the  Cross,  and  subordinate  to  it. 

Knowledge— Speech— Relationships— Property— Self-denial— Compassion  — Perse- 
verance in  Christian  activity— Prayer— Union         .  .  .         37 — 83 

CHAPTER    n. 

THIS  THEORY  ILLUSTRATED  AND  ENFORCED  FROM  THE  PRECEPTS 
AND  EXAMPLES  OF  THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 

1.  From  the  paternal  character  of  the  antediluvian  economy— 2.  The  migratory 
character  of  the  Abrahamic— 3.  The  national  and  stationary  character  of  the 
Mosaic— 4.  The  life  and  character  of  Christ— 5.  The  agency  of  the  Holy 
Spirit— 6.  The  commands  of  Christ,  direct  or  implied- 7.  The  first  Mission- 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

ary— 8.  The  first  Missionary  church— 9.  The  tenor  of  the  Epistles— 10.  Forms 
part  of  a  universal  plan,  which  includes  the  agency  of  angels— 11.  And  which 
devolves  and  accumulates  all  the  moral  influences  of  the  church  from  age  to 
age 84—132 

CHAPTER    III. 

ILLUSTRATED  AND  ENFORCED  FROM  PROPHECY. 

1.  Does  prophecy  afford  any  glimpses  of  the  ultimate  results  of  such  instrumen- 
tality?— 2.  Will  the  final  triumph  of  Christianity  be  in  any  way  indebted  to 
such  agency  ? — 3.  Circumstances  which  now  render  this  inquiry  peculiarly 
important— 4.  Millenarianism  (as  popularly  understood)  unfriendly  to  Mis- 
sionary activity. 

I.  Millenarian  doctrine  at  variance  with  some  of  the  leading  principles  of  Divine 

truth- 1.  "With  the  fact  that  Divine  commands  imply  the  promise  of  aid  and 
success— 2.  With  the  sincerity  of  the  Divine  character— 3.  With  the  Divine 
benignity— 4.  With  the  ordinary  and  wise  reserve  of  Scripture — 5.  And  is 
derogatory  to  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit. 

II.  Not  warranted  by  prophecy.    III.  The  enlargement  of  the  Church  resulting 

from  Christian  activity.  IV.  This  view,  corroborated  by  every  part  of  the 
Word  of  God  by  which  its  correctness  can  be  fairly  tested.  V.  The  whole 
harmonized  with  the  foregoing  parts,  and  applied         .  .  133—173 


PART    II. 

THE  BENEFITS  OF  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS. 

I.  The  state  of  the  Church  has  varied  in  proportion  as  it  has  been  faithful  or  other- 
wise to  its  Missionary  design.  II.  Progress  of  Christianity  through  the  suc- 
cessive ages  of  the  Christian  era — 1.  Sixteenth  century,  or  reformation  within 
tlie  Church— 2.  Seventeenth  century,  or  period  of  Missionary  preparation  and 
promise— 3.  Eighteenth  century,  or  period  of  Missionary  association — 4.  Nine- 
teenth century,  or  period  of  Missionary  enterprise. 

III.  Event.":!  which  may  be  regarded  as  dividing  the  brief  history  of  modern  Mis- 
sions into  epochs.    IV.  Statistical  summary      .  .  .  175 — 191 


CONTENTS.  XVll 

CHAPTER   II. 

ADVANTAGES  OF  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE  TO  THE  HEATHENS. 
SECTION  I. 

TEMPORAL  BENEFITS. 

What  it  has  done  in  this  respect  for  the  various  nations  of  Christendom— I.  Some 
islands  owe  their  discovery  to  it — 2.  Wandering  tribes  localized— 3.  Taught 
useful  arts  and  trades — 4.  Languages  reduced  to  a  written  form— 5.  Education 
given— 6.  Laws  and  government  instituted— 7.  Morality  promoted— 8.  Checked 
depopulation  and  prevented  extinction — 9.  Mediated  between  hostile  tribes, 
and  prevented  sanguinary  conflicts — 10.  Retrieved  their  slandered  mental 
character — 11.  Protected  the  oppressed,  liberated  the  enslaved — 12.  Various 
evils  blotted  out— 13.  Elevating  efFect  on  the  character  and  social  rank  of 
woman ;  general  views  of  temporal  benefits ;  benefits  unascertained  greater 
still 192—218 

SECTION  II. 

RELIGIOUS   BENEFITS. 

1.  Abolished  idolatry— 2.  Imparted  Christian  instruction— 3.  Alleviated  moral 
miseries — 4.  Instrumentally  converted  and  saved  many — 5.  Bibles;  ordi- 
nances;  churches— 6.  Accessions  to  the  Church  above  .  218—226 

CHAPTER   III. 

THE  REFLEX  BENEFITS  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS. 


SECTION  I. 

TEMPORAL   ADVANTAGES. 

These  afford  a  fine  illustration  of  the  remunerative  influence  of  benevolence— 1 .  Ren- 
dered great  service  to  literature  and  science— 2.  Corrected  and  enlarged  our 
views  of  the  character  and  condition  of  man— 3.  Vindicated  our  own  charac- 
ter in  the  eyes  of  the  heathen— 4.  Preserved  European  life— 5.  Benefited  our 
commerce— 6.  And  shipping         .....  227—237 


XVlll  CONTENTS. 

SECTION  II. 

RELIGIOUS  BENEFITS. 

1.  Broke  up  the  prevailing  monotony  of  the  religious  community— 2.  Enlivened 
the  piety  of  Christians,  and  increased  their  happiness — 3.  Produced  denom- 
inational emulation  among  them— 4.  Led  to  the  formation  of  other  institu- 
tions—5.  Taught  us  that  the  cause  of  religion,  abroad  and  at  home,  is  one— 
6.  Greatly  enlarged  our  Christian  views— 7.  Promoted  sympathetic  union  of 
Christians — 8.  Increased  pecuniary  liberality — 9.  Awakened  and  cherished  a 
spirit  of  prayer— 10.  Produced  noble  specimens  of  Christian  character— 11. 
Shown  us  the  practicability  of  the  Missionary  enterprise,  and  impressed  us 
with  our  individual  obligation  to  espouse  it— 12.  Disarmed  infidelity  of  its 
principal  weapon— 13.  Promoted  Biblical  study— increased  the  evidences  of 
Christianity— and  deepened  our  confidence  in  the  Divinity  of  its  character 
and  the  certainty  of  its  triumphs— 14.  Been  the  means  of  converting  many  of 
our  countrymen  abroad  and  at  home— 15.  And,  in  various  ways,  eminently 
glorified  God  .......  238—264 

CHAPTER  IV. 

ARGUMENT  DERIVED  FROM  THE  BENEFITS  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS, 
FOR  THE  INCREASED  ACTIVITY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

I.  Our  Missionary  success  fully  proportioned  to  our  efforts.  II.  Advantages 
have  flown  from  them  which  nothing  else  could  have  conferred.  III.  The 
history  of  modern  Missions  illustrates  every  part  of  the  theory  of  Christian 
influence.  IV.  Supplies  a  powerful  motive  to  the  increase  of  our  Missionary 
zeal 265-231 


PART    III. 

ENCOURAGEMENTS    OF    CHRISTIANS    TO    PROSE- 
CUTE THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE. 

I.  Encouragement  from  the  history  of  Christianity.    II.  Encouragement  from  the 

political  aspect  of  the  world.    III.  Encouragement  from  the  moral  state  of  the 

world.     IV.    Encouragement  from  the  state  of  the  Protestant  Churches. 

■.    V.  Encouragement  from  the  word  of  God. 

Connexion  with  the  preceding  parts,  and  application  of  the  whole      .       283—326 


CONTENTS.  XIX 

PART    IV. 

OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE. 


I.  The  Missionary  enterprise  unnecessary— the  heathen  safe.  II.  The  Missionary 
enterprise  impracticable.  III.  Civilization  should  precede  Christianity.  IV. 
We  have  "heathen  enough  at  home."  "V.  We  have  not  the  necessary  funds. 
"VI.  Of  no  avail,  till  Christians  are  united.  VII.  Of  no  avail,  till  the  "per- 
sonal reign"  of  Christ.  VIII.  The  time  is  not  yet  come — "must  not  take 
God's  work  out  of  his  hands,"  &c.  &c. 

Reflectiona 327—363 


PART    V. 

THE  WANTS   OF  THE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH,  AS  A 
MISSIONARY  SOCIETY,  EXAMINED. 

Found  to  consist,  generally,  in  the  want  of  entire  devotednessto  its  office— 1.  More 
particularly  in  deep  humility— 2.  In  the  due  appreciation  of  the  spiritual 
nature  of  its  office — 3.  A  clear  conception  and  vivid  conviction  of  the  Mis- 
sionary constitution  of  the  Christian  Church — 4.  Missionary  information 
should  be  more  widely  circulated,  and  more  seriously  pon-dered— 5.  A  greater 
depth  of  personal  piety— 6.  Holy  wisdom  to  mark  and  improve  the  movements 
of  Providence— 7.  Greater  devotedness  to  the  Missionary  object  among  minis- 
ters at  home— S.  Christian  union— 9.  Greater  pecuniary  liberality — 10.  Mis- 
sionary laymen— II.  Energy  and  zeal.— 12.  Prayer. 

The  whole  applied  to  the  enforcement  of  entire  consecration  .  365 — 420 


XX  CONTENTS. 


PART    VI. 

MOTIVES  TO  ENFORCE  ENTIRE  DEVOTEDNESS  TO 
THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE. 

1.  To  retrieve,  if  possible,  the  evil  eflfects  of  past  neglect— 2.  As  the  only  alterna- 
tive of  partial  hostility  against  Christ,  at  present— 3.  The  state  of  the  heathen 
requires  it— 4.  The  remarkable  manner  in  which  Providence  is  calling  for  it 
— 5.  Some  have  thus  devoted  themselves— 6.  It  is  only  a  devoted  Church  that 
is  prepared  to  turn  the  characteristics  of  the  age,  change  and  transition,  to  a 
scriptural  account— 7.  We  are  likely  to  impart  our  character  to  the  future— 
8.  Nothing  done  for  Christ  is  lost— 9.  All  things  belong  to  him— 10.  The 
claim  of  redemption — 11.  The  relative  object  of  redemption — 12.  It  would 
complete  the  honor  of  the  Gospel— 13.  Our  regard  for  the  glory  of  God  requires 
it— 14.  And  it  would  be  the  completion  of  human  happiness. 

Conclusion  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  421—478 


INTRODUCTION. 


It  is  mentioned  by  Andrew  Fuller,  that  he  had  thought  of 
preparing  a  new  system  of  theology,  in  which  the  atone- 
ment of  Christ  should  be  made  the  central  truth,  and  all 
the  other  doctrines  of  religion  be  interwoven  into  the 
treatise  in  their  relations  to  the  great  fact  of  man's  redemp- 
tion. Blending  as  his  mind  did  such  clearness  and  such 
force,  we  might  have  well  expected  that  any  work  it  should 
have  produced  upon  this  plan  would  have  been  of  great 
value.  It  is  one  of  the  excellences  which  distinguish  the 
present  essay  on  Missions,  that  its  eloquent  author  has 
commenced  the  discussion  of  his  theme  at  this  same  point ; 
viewed  our  world,  as  the  field  of  missionary  toil,  through 
the  atmosphere  of  Gethsemane  and  Calvary;  and  labored, 
as  the  apostles  in  their  day  also  did,  to  set  before  the 
church  "  the  love  of  Christ,"  not  only  as  the  motive  of 
effort,  but  as  the  model  of  all  our  plans  and  sacrifices.  A 
more  unreserved  surrender  by  Christians  of  their  faculties, 
their  substance  and  their  influence  into  the  hands  of  Him 
who  bought  them  with  his  own  blood, — a  life  of  closer 
communion  with  our  Lord,  and  of  more  entire  conformity 
to  His  image, — is  the  great  deficiency  of  the  church,  in 
our  times.  Were  it  attained,  a  thousand  errors  would 
disappear,  without  further  controversy ;  the  efforts  of  the 
church  would  be  at  once  infinitely  augmented,  even  with- 
out the  addition  of  one  convert  to  the  ranks  of  her  present 
laborers;  and  her  power  over  the  world  would  become 
alike  incalculable  and  irresistible. 
3 


XXll  INTRODUCTION. 

The  writer  of  these  remarks  would  not  assume  to  him- 
self the  task,  to  which  he  feels  himself  so  unequal,  of  discuss- 
ing afresh  any  of  the  topics  so  ably  handled  in  the  present 
work,  to  which  he  has  consented,  at  the  request  of  the 
American  publishers,  to  furnish  an  Introduction.  But  it 
will  be  observed  by  an  attentive  reader,  that  there  are 
questions  regarding  the  missionary  enterprise,  which  the 
author  did  not  consider  as  falling  within  the  limits  of  the 
plan  he  had  prescribed  for  himself,  symmetrical  and  com- 
prehensive as  that  plan  is.  To  some  of  these  he  alludes, 
as  "  questions  of  surpassing  interest,"  and  as  being  topics 
"  which  are  likely,  at  no  distant  time,  to  force  themselves 
on  our  attention  in  a  manner  for  which  previous  considera- 
tion, and  devout  inquiry  of  God,  can  alone  prepare  us."* 
He  speaks  of  them  as  clothed  *' with  growing  interest :" 
and  although,  from  various  causes,  it  might  be  inexpedient 
that  the  work  he  has  so  ably  prepared  should  enter  formal- 
ly into  the  examination  of  these  topics,  they  are  some  of 
them  practical,  questions,  which  are  each  day  pressing 
themselves  with  added  momentum  and  greater  weight  on 
the  attention  of  the  churches.  The  past  history  of  the 
Christian  church  may  aid  us  in  part  to  obtain  the  solution 
of  some  of  these  problems ;  for  the  annals  of  the  world 
and  the  church  are  but  the  book  of  "  Providence  teaching 
by  examples."  And  if,  with  regard  to  others,  a  satisfac- 
tory decision  seems  more  remote,  yet  there  are  contingen- 
cies, in  which  even  conjectures  may  not  be  without  their 
value.  .When  Napoleon,  with  his  staff,  was  crossing  an 
arm  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  the  waters  were  found  to  be 
rising,  while  the  shades  of  night  were  gathering  around 
them,  and  the  French  general  saw  himself  menaced  with 
the  fate  of  Pharaoh,  he  displayed  his  pre-eminent  sagacity 
by  the  orders  which  he  gave.  Checking  his  own  horse, 
and  remaining  stationary,  he  ordered  each  of  his  attend- 
ants to  ride  onward  to  the  several  points  in  that  circle  of 
which  he  was  the  centre.  He  who  found  the  water  be- 
coming shoal,  was  to  call  on  all  the  rest  to  turn  and  follov/ 
him.  Yet  it  is  sufficiently  evident,  that  in  thus  effecting 
an  escape  to  the  shore,  all   were  instrumental, — they  who 

*  Page  38o. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXlll 

found  themselves  swimming  in  the  deeper  waters,  as  well 
as  he  who  happened  to  turn  his  horse's  head  towards  the 
land.  In  the  discovery  of  the  true  and  safe  path  in  some 
moral  enterprise,  the  process  pursued  by  the  investigator 
must  often  be  an  exhaustive  one.  He  must  consider  and 
review  all  the  possible  forms  that  may  be  suggested,  in 
order  to  acquaint  himself  with  their  relative  merits  and  de- 
fects. And  in  carrying  forward  to  its  triumphant  accom- 
plishment the  present  missionary  enterprise  of  the  church, 
occasions  will  be  found,  when  a  calm  estimate  of  all  the 
doubts  and  difficulties  which  seem  to  hide  the  path  of  duty 
will  be  doubly  beneficial.  Such  examination  will  call  out 
the  wisdom  and  exercise  the  prudence  of  the  church ;  and 
drive  her  also,  under  the  deepening  sense  of  her  own  ig- 
norance and  insufficiency,  to  that  mercy-seat  which  she 
has  never  sought  in  vain. 

And  in  the  discussion  of  such  questions,  the  Christians 
of  our  own  country  have  a  peculiar  and  hereditary  interest. 
America  was  long  to  the  Christians  of  Europe  the  field  of 
missionary  effort.  Columbus,  its  discoverer,  was  strongly 
actuated  by  the  prophecies  he  was  wont  so  intently  to  study, 
and  by  the  hopes  he  cherished  of  extending  here  the  king- 
dom of  Christ.  In  the  mind  of  his  patron,  the  Queen  of 
Spain,  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  to  Christianity,  was 
an  object  ''  paramount  to  all  the  rest."  *  And  Protestant- 
ism vied  with  Romanism  in  endeavors  to  establish  on  our 
shores  Christian  colonies.  The  brave  and  devout  Co- 
ligny,  while  heading  the  Protestants  of  France,  labored  to 
plant  the  faith  in  either  portion  of  our  continent,  in  Brazil 
to  the  south,  as  in  Florida  to  the  north,  although  in  each 
case  in  vain.  The  Puritan  Fathers  of  New  England  were 
more  successful,  and  the  world  is  yet  wondering  at  the 
rapid  development  each  new  generation  is  making  of  the 
influence  those  Christians  exercised.  Some  of  the  strong- 
est and  noblest  minds  of  Europe  looked  intently  to  our 
country  as  the  scene  of  missions.  Such  were  Cromwell, 
and  Boyle  and  Berkeley  in  England.  Such  v/as  Fenelon, 
one  of  whose  youthful  schemes  it  was,  to  become  himself  a 
missionary  in  Canada,  then  a  French  province. t     Amongst 

*  Prescott's  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  II,  496.  f  Bausset.  Hist,  de  Fenelon. 


XXIV  INTRODUCTION. 

ourselves,  too,  God  raised  up  missionaries,  at  a  time  when 
the  Protestants  of  Europe  were  comparatively  inactive  in 
this  work.  Our  Eliot,  our  Mayhews  and  our  Brainerd, 
labored  long  and  devoutly.  The  memoirs  of  the  latter, 
especially,  served  to  excite  the  zeal,  and  to  mould  the  char- 
acter of  William  Carey  and  of  Henry  Martyn,  two  of  the 
most  honored  names  among  the  modern  missionaries  of 
Great  Britain.  And  in  our  own  times,  the  Great  Head  of 
the  church  has  given  to  the  Christians  of  this  land,  among 
those  whose  work  is  now  ended,  and  those  who  yet  toil  in 
the  mission  field,  some  names  not  likely  to  be  forgotten  as 
long  as  the  earthly  church  has  a  history  and  a  being.  As 
the  children  of  a  soil  which  the  Christians  of  Europe  thus 
sought  to  evangelize ;  as  the  descendants  of  those  who  la- 
bored when  the  Protestants  of  the  old  world  were  compar- 
atively inefficient;  as  the  compatriots  of  those  who  have 
left  their  bones  in  Asia,  in  Africa,  and  in  the  islands  of 
the  sea,  taking  possession  there  for  Christ  and  his  church 
of  the  countries  of  the  heathen,  American  Christians  have 
an  undeniable  interest  in  the  examination  of  every  scheme 
and  every  question  that  bear  directly  or  indirectly  on  the 
great  duty  of  evangelizing  the  world.  They  are  thus  re- 
paying the  debt  they  owe  to  the  Christians  of  other  nations ; 
asserting  anew  the  principles  of  their  forefathers  long 
since  gathered  to  their  rest,  and  guarding  also  the  memory 
of  their  brethren  who  have  more  recently  fallen  in  the  mis- 
sionary field.  In  the  discussion,  too,  of  some  of  these 
questions,  the  Christians  of  this  country  have  stores  of  ex- 
perience that  are  peculiarly  their  own,  and  that  are  not 
equally  accessible  to  their  fellow-Christians  in  Europe. 
We  need  but  name  the  power  of  the  voluntary  principle, 
as  seen  amongst  us  in  the  support  of  religion  and  its  insti- 
tutions ;  and  the  exemption  of  our  churches  alike  from  the 
oppressions  of  the  State,  as  dissenters,  and  from  its  patron- 
age, as  an  establishment, — evils  felt  by  our  brethren  in  the 
foreign  as  well  as  in  the  home  field. 

1.  A  question  of  great  moment,  that  has  within  the  last 
few  years  perplexed  the  missionary  bodies  both  of  the  old 
and  new  world,  is,  that  of  the  mode  in  which  funds  may 
be  secured,  adequate  to  the  support  of  the  missions,  which 
the  providence  of  God  has  cast  upon  them.     And  these 


INTRODUCTION.  XXV 

missions  need  not  only  to  be  sustained,  but  the  wants  of 
the  heathen,  and  the  commands  of  the  gospel  join  with  the 
invitations  of  Divine  Providence  to  require  that  they  should 
be  widely  extended.  This  was  a  difficulty  which  the  earlier 
friends  of  modern  missions  scarce  anticipated,  as  one  that 
could  by  any  possibility  occur.  Such,  at  least,  was  the 
sentiment  of  Fuller.  In  a  letter  of  advice  to  a  friend,  who 
had  commenced  a  society  for  the  evangelization  of  Ire- 
land, he  recurs  to  his  own  experience  in  the  work  of 
propagating  the  gospel  in  India.  "  Be  more  anxious  to  do 
the  work  than  to  get  money.  If  the  work  be  done,  and 
modestly  and  faithfully  reported,  money  will  come.  We 
have  never  had  occasion  to  ask  for  money,  but  once  .  .  . 
The  first  contributions  at  your  meeting  were  much  beyond 
c£13  2s.  6d.  with  which  we  commenced.  Money  tvas  one 
of  the  least  of  our  concerns  ;  we  never  doubted,  that  if,  by 
the  good  hand  of  our  God  upon  us,  we  could  do  the  work, 
the  friends  of  Christ  would  support  us."*  Yet,  within  a 
short  time,  we  have  seen  schools  disbanded,  the  cries  of 
missionaries  for  assistants  in  their  labor  disregarded,  and 
our  Missionary  Boards  compelled,  by  the  dread  of  bank- 
ruptcy at  home,  when  the  loud  summons  of  Providence 
called  them  to  enter  upon  the  widening  and  whitening 
fields  ripe  for  the  harvest,  to  meet  the  call  with  the  com- 
plaint, that  an  exhausted  treasury  left  them  no  means  for 
enlarging,  scarce  even  of  sustaining  their  present  endea- 
vors. Various  modes  have  indeed  been  attempted,  and 
not  without  some  measure  of  success,  to  remedy  this  dis- 
tressing state  of  aifairs.  Among  the  most  promising  are, 
perhaps,  the  appeals  made  through  Sabbath  schools  to  the 
younger  members  of  the  church.  The  Wesleyans  of 
England,  and  the  London  Missionary  Society  have  both 
received  large  and  efficient  aid  from  these  sources.  Under 
the  auspices  of  the  latter  body  have  been  lately  prepared  a 
series  of  missionary  works  for  the  use  of  children.  The 
method  has  the  advantage  of  not  only  creating  in  the 
minds  of  the  young  habits  of  liberality  likely  to  grow  with 
their  growth  ;  but  of  also  training  up  many  to  become 
themselves  missionaries,  dedicated  with  "  the  dew  of  their 

*  Letter  of  Fuller  to  Ivimey,  dated  Kettering,  April  22, 1814. 

3* 


XXVI  INTRODUCTION. 

youth  "  upon  them  to  the  service  of  Christ  among  the  far 
heathen.  Amid  all  the  worldliness  of  which  the  church 
must  yet  complain,  it  is  yet  a  truth,  equally  gratifying  and 
indisputable,  that  the  standard  of  liberality  in  the  Chris- 
tians of  the  age  is  rising.  Though,  yet,  far  beneath  the 
measure  of  the  primitive  disciples, — it  is  certainly  much 
in  advance  of  what  was  seen  but  a  few  years  since.  Even 
the  very  deficiencies,  of  which  the  various  evangelical 
bodies  of  our  time  complain,  in  the  funds  required  for  their 
missions,  grow  in  part  out  of  the  rapid  development  and  in- 
crease those  missions  have  experienced.  Some  have  pro- 
posed to  keep  down  the  expenditures  of  the  church  in  the 
mission  work,  until  a  time  of  higher  devotedness  on  the 
part  of  Christians  shall  have  arrived.  This  course  seems 
indefensible,  whether  we  look  to  human  nature,  or  to 
Scripture.  The  souls  of  men  are  not  likely  to  be  stirred 
to  support  adequately  a  work,  even  in  its  present  state, 
unless  it  gives  signs  of  continued  advancement.  And  con- 
tinued advancement  in  the  work  of  evangelization  inevi- 
tably brings  an  increase  of  expenditure.  Success  is 
necessary  to  sympathy  and  support,  and  success  itself 
involves  growing  liabilities  and  widening  efforts.  Such 
retrenchment  is,  above  all,  indefensible,  if  we  look  to  the 
Book  we  are  commending  to  the  heathen.  Legible  on  the 
last — the  outermost  fold  of  Matthew's  gospel  where  hangs  the 
very  seal  of  the  minister's  commission,  stands  the  precept : 
^'Go  yc,  into  all  the  ivorlcV  Would  the  church  obliterate 
or  conceal  that  irksome  commandment?  In  doing  so,  she 
must  also  erase  the  promise  that  accompanies  it :  '*  Lo,  I 
am  ivitli  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  ivorld.'* 
She  cannot  abridge  her  task,  without  renouncing  her 
helper,  and  foregoing  the  promised  presence  of  her  Lord. 
Ruinous,  indeed,  would  that  economy  be,  which  should 
bar  out  the  Redeemer  from  his  own  church,  as  too  exact- 
ing and  expensive  a  guest.  The  church  has  abundant 
resources,  and  it  needs  but  a  higher  grade  of  piety,  and  a 
juster  sense  of  duty  to  reach  them.  Systematic  contribu- 
tions on  the  part  of  all,  of  every  age  and  of  every  condition, 
would  give  the  funds  needed,  and  funds  so  given  would  be 
abundantly  blessed.  Might  not  a  literal  return  to  the 
primitive  rule  of  laying  by  on  each  Sabbath  day,  as  God 


INTRODUCTION.  XXVll 

hath  prospered  us,  largely  swell  the  missionary  revenues  of 
the  church?  Frequent  and  small  gains,  in  their  aggregate, 
always  exceed  large  sums  obtained  at  longer  intervals. 
The  poorest  might  give  without  inconvenience,  in  weekly 
payments,  a  sum  which  in  its  yearly  amount,  they  would 
never  think  of  contributing.  The  sacredness  of  the  Sab- 
bath, and  its  softening  and  elevating  associations,  might 
tend  also  to  make  the  richer  Christian  more  liberal  than  he 
would  be,  if  solicited  amid  the  cares  and  hardening 
influences  of  the  week.  And,  again,  the  principle  of 
giving  as  God  has  prospered,  seems  to  imply  a  grateful 
acknowledgment  thus  to  be  made  of  mercies  received  since 
the  past  Sabbath,  the  rearing,  week  by  week,  of  a  new 
Ebenezer,  along  the  pathway  of  life.  It  is  but  too  evident, 
that  feelings  of  thankfulness,  like  all  other  passive  impres- 
sions, are  easily  effaced,  and  can  only  with  difficulty  be 
preserved  in  their  original  freshness.  A  deliverance 
received,  an  unexpected  accession  of  property,  the  recovery 
from  the  verge  of  the  grave  of  a  beloved  child, — are  all 
blessings  likely  to  be  more  justly  appreciated  and  more  libe- 
rally acknowledged,  in  the  devout  meditations  of  the  Sabbath 
immediately  succeeding  the  bestowment  of  the  benefit,  than 
when  we  come  at  the  year's  end  to  review  them  as  they 
are  seen  faintly  and  afar  through  the  mists  of  distance. 
Were  the  periods  of  Christian  liberality  thus  made  more 
frequent,  on  the  part  of  the  opulent  especially,  large  sums, 
again,  that  now  go  to  swell  the  capital  of  an  estate,  and  as 
such  are  never  to  be  touched  by  the  hand  of  almsgiving, 
would  be  kept,  where  they  belong,  in  the  place  o(  profits, 
gained  by  the  blessing  of  Providence,  and  which  it  would 
be  felt  are  to  be  liberally  dispensed  at  the  command  of  the 
Father  in  heaven  who  gave  them.  And  we  doubt  not  that 
the  church  is  yet  to  witness  the  pouring  of  entire  fortunes 
into  her  treasury,  upon  the  return  of  that  primitive  spirit, 
which  of  old  laid  the  price  of  houses  and  lands  at  the 
apostles'  feet. 

2.  A  question  yet  remaining  in  some  obscurity,  though 
the  course  of  events  has  thrown  increasing  light  upon  it, 
is,  that  of  the  best  form  of  missionary  labor.  The  error 
once  so  prevalent,  that  civilization  must  precede  conver- 
sion, is  now  well  nigh  exploded.     Once  it  seemed  so  cer- 


XXVUl  INTRODUCTION. 

tain  a  truth,  that  the  acute  mind  of  Warburton  adduced  it 
as  a  reason,  why  Protestant  missions  had  been  compara- 
tively inefficient,  that  they  had  overlooked  the  absolute 
necessity  of  civilization  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  gospel.* 
But,  in  the  work  of  commending  the  word  of  God  to  a 
heathen  people,  what  proportion  of  the  labor  should  be 
given  to  schools,  what  to  translations,  and  the  care  of  the 
press,  and  what  to  preaching,  seems  a  more  difficult  inqui- 
ry. Reason,  scripture,  and  experience  all  seem  to  require 
that  the  living  preacher  should  be  the  chief  and  foremost  in- 
strumentality upon  which  the  church  should  rely;  while 
there  are  circumstances  and  seasons  that  may  require  the 
church  to  make  large  efforts  and  expenditures  for  the 
instruction  of  the  young  through  schools,  and  to  supply  a 
nation  of  readers  with  Christian  books ;  as,  in  yet  other 
situations,  much  attention  may  be  justly  given  to  the  in- 
struction of  a  nation,  emerging  from  barbarism,  in  the  use 
of  the  plough,  and  the  shuttle,  and  the  various  arts  that  go 
to  adorn  and  enrich  the  Christian  home.  But  whatever 
may  be  urged  in  commendation  of  other  modes  of  present- 
ing the  gospel,  the  preaching  of  the  word  has  an  honor, 
that  is  put  upon  no  other  instrumentality  ;  in  its  having 
been  the  form  of  our  Lord's  own  labors  while  on  the  earth, 
and  in  its  selection  by  him,  as  the  means  which  he  com- 
manded the  church  to  employ,  and  which,  in  his  promises,  he 
specifically  bound  himself  to  bless.  It  was  in  its  use  that 
Christianity  won  its  earliest  and  most  glorious  victories.  Ere 
yet  a  single  book  of  the  New  Testament  had  been  written, 
it  was  by  the  use  of  preaching,  that  the  apostles  had  already 
as  their  enemies  alleged,  "filled  all  Jerusalem  with  their 
doctrine."  Philosophy  had  her  lectures,  given  in  the 
grove,  or  the  garden,  or  the  porch  to  her  select  auditors 
*' fit  and  few,"  and  given  only  for  pay.  She  had  never 
dreamed  of  bringing  down  the  loftiest  truths  to  an   indis- 

*  Even  yet,  the  error  lingers  in  quarters,  where  it  was  scarce  to  be  expected, 
amifl  all  the  blaze  of  recent  missionary  experience  on  this  subject.  Bloomfield,  in 
his  Recensio  Synoplica  on  Hebrews  5:  12,  has  said,  "The  Christian  religion  may 
be  said  to  form  a  kind  of  science ;  for  which  very  reason  (and  would  that  some 
who  have  a  zoal,  but  not  accordingto  knowledge, would  bear  it  in  mind,)  civilization 
ought  ever  to  precede  evangelization."  The  italics  are  his  own.  To  us,  we  mu.st 
say,  the  remark  displays  as  little  of  knowledge  as  of  zeal.  The  principle  it  asserts 
has  been  disproved  in  either  hemisphere  and  under  every  zone,  from  Greenland  to 
Brazil,  amid  the  Caffres  and  the  Karens,  the  inhabitants  of  New  Zealand  and  those 
of  the  Sandwich  Islands. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXIX 

criminate  audience,  and  that  without  fee  or  reward.  But 
by  vvhat  the  wise  of  this  world  deemed  eminently  "  the 
foolishness  of  preaching,^'  the  new  religion  overturned 
their  power  and  scattered  their  dreams.  The  church  of 
the  first  century  was  not  comparatively  a  church  of  writers, 
and  hence  the  remains  of  primitive  antiquity  are  scanty  in 
amount  and  often  breathe  a  rude  simplicity ;  but,  though 
the  writings  of  the  new  sect  were  i^ew,  the  devout  and  fear- 
less preacher  was  every  where,  and  hence  it  was  that  one 
of  the  Fathers  spoke  soon  of  the  Christian  church  as  being 
found  every  where,  in  the  city  and  the  village,  in  the  army, 
the  senate  and  the  forum.  In  the  growth  of  anti-christian 
delusion  and  imposture,  the  pulpit  lost  its  legitimate  in- 
fluence ;  and  the  Reformation  early  distinguished  itself  by 
the  new  impulse  which  it  gave  to  preaching,  not  merely 
among  the  Protestant  nations  of  Europe,  but  even  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Romish  church.  It  was  preaching,  carried 
back  yet  one  step  nearer  the  apostolic  model,  in  its  being 
grafted  upon  a  system  of  itineracy,  which,  in  the  shape  of 
Methodism,  broke  up  the  dreamy  slumber  of  the  English 
Established  Church,  and  carried  the  light  of  the  gospel 
into  the  most  neglected  recesses  of  the  island. 

We  would  not  diminish  in  the  least,  the  just  claims  of 
the  press,  that  instrument  by  which  such  preachers  as 
Baxter  are  yet  uttering  their  message  with  a  voice  that 
death  cannot  still ;  nor  forget  the  honor  due  to  schools, 
for  which  that  devoted  missionary,  our  own  Eliot,  was 
accustomed  so  fervently  and  frequently  to  pray.  But  over 
the  written  page,  the  living  preacher  has  ever  this  pre- 
eminent advantage.  He  varies  his  message  to  his  varying 
auditory  ;  he  reaches  the  prejudiced  who  will  not,  and  the 
illiterate  who  cannot  read  ;  he  commends  his  errand  to  the 
heathen  by  the  voice  and  the  look,  and  all  those  signs  of 
human  sympathy  that  no  literature  can  paint,  no  powers  of 
the  press  transfer  into  written  characters.  Yet,  beyond 
all  this  he  is  himself  the  living  embodiment  of  the  truth 
that  he  publishes,  a  speaking  model  of  the  peace  which  he 
promises,  the  patience  that  he  commands,  and  the  self- 
denial  and  the  charity  his  religion  is  to  produce.  And 
beside  this,  he  is  himself,  if  a  man  of  God,  the  partaker  of 
that  Spirit  whose  blessing    alone  can  render   any  human 


XXX  INTRODUCTION, 

efforts  successful  to  the  conversion  of  souls.  Taught  by 
that  Spirit  he  follows,  which  the  tract  cannot  do,  his  mes- 
sage with  his  prayers ;  and  steeps  thus  the  seed  which  he 
scatters  in  the  quickening  dews  of  heaven.  Over  schools, 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  has  the  advantage  of  its  aiming 
directly  at  the  grand  end  of  missions,  the  salvation  of  the 
nation,  while  the  school  teacher  seeks  the  same  end  cir- 
cuitously,  and  with  much  consequent  loss  of  time  and 
labor.  The  preacher  addresses  the  adult  generation,  in 
whose  hands  the  power  and  character  of  the  country  lie; 
the  teacher  acts  upon  the  young,  whose  present  influence 
is  circumscribed,  and  whose  future  influence  we  cannot 
safely  count  upon,  when  removed  from  the  restraints  of  the 
academy,  and  flung  into  the  midst  of  a  heathen  society  which 
outnumbers,  corrupts  and  overwhelms  them,  just  so  far  as 
their  character  is  merely  the  result  of  education,  and  not 
the  result  of  that  renewing  grace,  which  the  preacher  seeks 
to  impart  to  the  parent,  the  youth,  and  the  child  alike. 
Preaching  is,  as  Francis  Xavier  called  it,  "  an  universal 
good^"  that  Xavier  whose  own  influence  was  at  once  so 
wide  and  powerful,  and  in  whose  character  and  history 
there  is  so  much  for  the  devout  Protestant  to  emulate  ; 
even  while  he  may  listen  incredulously  to  the  claims  set 
up  for  him  by  a  brother  Jesuit,  the  eloquent  Bourdaloue,  that 
he  preached  the  gospel  in  fifty-two  kingdoms,  and  over 
more  than  three  thousand  leagues  of  territory,  and  baptized 
with  his  own  hands  a  million  of  Pagans.* 

The  most  successful  missions  would  seem  as  yet  to  have 
been  insular,  or  if  situated  on  the  main  land,  where  the 
same  class  of  population  was  found,  as  is  generally  to  be 
seen  in  an  island,  a  people  in  some  measure  isolated  from 
others,  and  having  one,  homogeneous  character,  such  as  is 
not  to  be  discovered  in  nations  inhabiting  wider  districts, 
and  left  more  free  to  roam  into  other  countries.  Such  an 
isolation  is  found,  for  instance,  in  the  Karen,  the  Green- 
lander,  although  not  an  insular  people. 

That  the  ministry  should  as  early  as  possible,  and  as 
soon  as  is  consistent  with  purity  of  doctrine,  and  the  safety 
of  the  mission  churches,  be  furnished  by  the  nation  itself, 

*  Bourdaloue,  11,  510. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXi 

seems  a  principle  in  which  all  are  agreed.  The  work  of 
carrying  forward  the  evangelization  of  a  country  to  its  last 
stages  must  fall  ultimately  on  the  converts  themselves,  and 
the  native  preacher  complete  what  the  foreign  evangelist 
has  begun. 

3.  We  are  thus  led  to  another  question  :  The  period  at 
which  a  tribe  or  country  shall  be  considered  as  competent 
to  meet  their  own  spiritual  wants,  and  cease  to  be  the  charge 
of  the  Missionary  Society  that  first  brought  to  them  the 
gospel.  With  the  increase  in  numbers  and  in  liberality  of 
the  native  churches,  there  are  portions  of  the  mission  field 
that  seem  approaching  to  that  state,  when  the  pecuniary 
burdens  of  the  mission  might  well  be  assumed  by  them- 
selves. But  could  they  yet  dispense  with  the  superior 
knowledge,  experience  and  prudence  of  the  foreign  Chris- 
tians, to  whose  zeal  they  owe  the  first  proclamation  of  the 
gospel  amongst  them  ?  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  it  seems 
clear,  that  the  very  spirit  of  the  gospel  forbids  their  being 
kept  in  dependence  upon  foreign  guidance  and  support 
longer  than  is  absolutely  inevitable.  There  are  faculties 
in  the  man  that  can  only  be  developed,  by  his  passing  from 
the  state  of  pupilage,  and  being  left  to  buflTet  the  difficulties 
of  life  with  his  own  solitary  energy.  A  nation  cannot,  if 
educated  and  enterprising,  long  remain  happy,  or  make  the 
due  development  of  their  resources,  while  they  remain  the 
colonies  of  a  distant  empire,  legislating  always  in  ignorance 
of  their  wants,  and  often  in  selfish  disregard  of  their  inter- 
ests. It  was  necessary  to  our  own  progress  as  a  people, 
that  the  bonds  which  attached  us  to  a  distant  island,  should 
be  severed,  ere  our  broad  territory  could  be  cultivated,  or 
our  physical  and  moral  resources  be  properly  ascertained, 
and  wisely  directed.  Is  not  the  principle  that  applies  to 
the  individual  and  the  nation,  a  principle  striking  deep  its 
roots  into  the  nature  of  man,  and  applicable  therefore,  in 
its  due  measure,  to  the  church  also  ?  The  churches  at  home 
may  not  yet  have  the  knowledge  of  facts  requisite  to  define 
the  period  when  missionary  supervision  should  cease,  and 
a  nation  pass  from  the  ranks  of  those  receiving,  to  the 
number  of  those  giving  missionary  instruction.  That  such 
relinquishment  of  care  and  control  on  the  part  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Society  should  be  delayed  until  the  land  is  entirely 


XXXU  INTRODUCTION. 

evangelized  would  seem  unreasonable.  Perhaps,  for  our  God 
is  one  wondrous  in  working,  controversies  and  schisms 
may  be  in  such  circumstances  permitted,  and  by  his  skill 
be  overruled  to  effect,  as  revolutions  have  done  in  the 
political  world,  those  changes  in  the  moral  world,  which 
from  our  reluctance  to  accomplish  them  peaceably.  He 
brings  to  pass  by  a  stern  and  salutary  violence.  Thus  it 
was  that  persecutions  scattered  widely  the  burning  brands 
of  the  apostolic  church,  from  that  church  at  Jerusalem 
where  they  were  blazing  as  on  a  quiet  hearth,  and  wasting 
alike  their  warmth  and  their  lustre,  over  the  face  of  distant 
lands,  where  otherwise  they  might  never  have  kindled  the 
light  of  their  testimony.  And  thus,  too,  even  the  sharp  con- 
tentions that  parted  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  but  as  a  feeble 
blast,  falling  upon  a  recent  conflagration,  and  driving  it 
rapidly  to  distant  parts  it  might  else  never  have  reached. 

4.  A  question  which  we  do  not  remember  to  have  seen 
discussed  is,  that  of  the  circumstances  which  may  be  con- 
sidered as  rendering  a  field  inaccessible,  or  which  require 
those  who  have  attempted  its  culture  to  abandon  it  as 
hopeless.  Does  the  Providence  of  God  yet  speak  distinctly 
at  times,  as  of  old  His  Spirit  once  spake  to  apostles,  for- 
bidding them  to  go  into  Asia  ?  If  so,  vvhat  are  the  indica- 
tions which  must  bear  so  sad  an  interpretation,  and  require 
the  church  to  leave  the  adversary  for  a  time  in  the  unmo- 
lested possession  of  his  prey,  while  they  place  the  land  so 
relinquished  for  a  time  beyond  the  range  of  the  church's 
sympathies  and  prayers.  In  the  East  and  in  the  West  are 
seen  fields  of  mission  effort  once  attempted,  but  now 
lying  fallow.  The  Mahometan  nations  are  at  this  time  the 
subject  of  little  direct  missionary  labor.  China,  in  its  vast 
interior  territory,  has  been  regarded  by  the  Protestant 
churches  as  closed  against  their  missionaries.  Romanism 
has  her  missionaries  there,  as  Wiseman  boasts  of  them, 
each  one  "  working  with  the  axe  suspended  over  his 
head."*  They  secured  their  admission,  it  is  to  be  feared, 
by  arts  little  consistent  with  Christian  integrity.  But 
from  the  strict  and  sanguinary  vigilance  that  guards  Japan 
against  the  missionary  of  the  cross,  even  that  proselyting 

*  Wiseman.    Lect.  on  Doctrines  and  Practices  of  the  Catholic  Church. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXlll 

communion  has  shrunk  back  appalled.  Pursuing  the  same 
train  of  thought,  it  may  be  asked,  what  is  the  amount  of 
peril  to  health  or  life,  that  constitutes  a  barrier  which  the 
church  is  not  required  to  scale  ?  Persecuted  in  one  city, 
Christ  required  them  to  flee  to  another ;  and  when  it  is 
viewed  in  this  light,  the  passion  for  martyrdom  boasted  of 
in  the  Romish  church,  is  seen,  in  the  character  of  the  church 
of  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries,  as  compared  with  the  church 
of  the  first  century,  to  be  the  mark  of  growing  superstition 
and  declining  piety.  But  when  the  Saviour  enjoined 
flight  from  one  town  to  some  other  less  inhospitable,  did 
the  permission  to  quit  a  city  imply  the  right  to  quit  the 
entire  country?  Again,  it  may  be  asked,  what  is  the 
delay  of  success  and  the  term  of  fruitless  effort,  that  entitles 
a  missionary  colony  to  return  to  their  native  soil,  and  to 
pronounce  a  field  reprobate,  and  given  over  to  burning? 
Dubois,  after  long  acquaintance  with  India,  and  personal 
toil  as  a  missionary,  which  gained  for  him,  according  to  a 
despatch  of  the  British  Governor  in  Council,  *'  a  degree  of 
respect  among  both  Europeans  and  natives  rarely  equal- 
led," yet  saw  so  little  true  piety  in  the  churches,  upon 
which  his  church  had  bestowed  the  toils  of  two  centuries, 
and  boasted,  meanwhile,  most  loudly  of  her  success,  that 
he  supposed  the  people  reprobate  of  God.*  What  are  the 
considerations  which  authorize  a  Protestant  Christian, 
studying  his  duty  from  the  Scriptures,  to  rest  in  a  similar 
conclusion? 

5.  The  union  of  the  several  evangelical  denominations 
to  carry  forward  more  successfully  the  mission  work,  has 
been  early  and  often  proposed.  The  gifted  Isaac  Taylor 
had  a  scheme  for  the  adoption,  by  common  consent  of 
British  Christians,  of  Episcopacy  as  the  basis  of  such  united 
action.  Harris  himself,  in  the  present  work,  seems  to  con- 
sider the  establishment  of  the  London  Missionary  Society 
as  forming  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  missions,  because 
of  its  inviting  the  co-operation  of  the  various  evangelical 
sects.     The  work  of  Macfarlane,  one  of  the  competitors 

*  It  seems  scarce  consistent  with  candor  in  Wiseman,  to  slur  over  this  signifi- 
cant fact,  without  further  allusion  to  it  than  by  saying,  that  the  Abbe  Dubois 
"  had  a  particular  theory  on  this  subject  lohich  he  endeavored  to  maintain." 
liCCt.  on  Doct.  and  Practices  of  Catholic  Religion. 


XXXIV  INTRODUCTION. 

for  the  prize  adjudged  to  our  author,  is  understood  to  con- 
tain a  scheme  for  such  coalescence  of  the  several  Christian 
churches  in  missions.  Nor  have  these  churches  only  dis- 
cussed it.  A  Romish  bishop,  of  our  own  country,  has  sug- 
gested it  to  at  least  one  body  of  Protestant  Christians,  as 
being  indispensable  to  success  in  foreign  missions.*  To  us, 
we  must  confess,  the  necessity  of  a  formal  union  seems  never 
yet  to  have  been  made  out.  The  present  state  of  the  church 
seems  clearly  to  render  it  impracticable  ;  and  even  were  it 
feasible,  there  are  considerations  which  lead  us  to  doubt 
whether  it  were  desirable.  The  nominal  unity  of  the 
Romish  church,  to  many  a  mind  so  strong  an  argument 
for  her  claims  to  supremacy,  is  notoriously  no  safeguard 
against  controversies  the  most  bitter,  and  rivalries  the  most 
relentless,  between  the  several  orders  that  shelter  them- 
selves beneath  the  seamless  mantle  of  their  one  common 
mother.  There  are  existing  evils  in  the  church  which  no 
union,  merely  formal,  could  heal.  There  are  others  which 
the  existence  of  such  union  would  surely  aggravate  into 
tenfold  virulence.  The  peaceable  separation  of  Christian 
sects,  holding  the  same  Head,  and  exchanging  over  the 
lines  of  party  enclosure  the  greetings  of  Christian  brother- 
hood, is  not  as  formidable  an  evil  as  it  is  often  represented. 
And  every  scheme  we  remember  to  have  seen  for  effecting 
an  union,  in  the  present  state  of  the  several  churches,  has 
proceeded  on  the  principle  of  expediency.  We  do  not  see 
how  Protestants,  recognizing  the  paramount  authority  of 
the  Scriptures,  and  making  the  polity  of  their  churches, 
like  the  doctrines  of  their  several  confessions,  to  rest  on 
the  single  basis  of  the  revealed  word  of  God,  could  in  con- 
sistency with  their  own  principles,  come  together  into  a 
church  avowedly  of  human  organization,  constituted  by 
compromises  mutually  exchanged,  and  resting  on  a  new 
sort  of  eclecticism  for  its  very  foundations.  It  would  be 
the  eclecticism  of  human  wisdom,  prescribing  to  the  several 
sects  the  duty  of  quietly  surrendering,  or  of  holding  in 
abeyance  truths  they  profess  conscientiously  to  derive 
from  the  divine  records.  If  for  such  union  I  may  sur- 
render one  truth,  I  may,  for  the  purpose  of  extending  the 
union  yet  more  widely,  sacrifice  still  additional  doctrines, 

*  Bishop  Kenrick. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXV 

until  from  a  basis  of  divine  origin  in  the  Bible,  I  had 
shifted  my  faith  and  my  hope  to  a  basis  merely  and  purely 
the  device  of  men.  Nor  is  an  union  merely  nominal  oi"  any 
real  value.  The  London  Missionary  Society  is,  we  be- 
lieve, composed  of  Congregational  churches,  and  Calvin- 
istic  in  doctrine.  The  clergymen  of  the  Establishment 
preach  at  its  anniversaries,  with  others.  But  its  missiona- 
ries are  Congregationalists;  Congregationalism  it  plants 
in  heathen  countries,  and  it  never  has  hoped  to  unite 
abroad,  as  it  never  has  united  at  home,  the  varying  views 
of  the  Churchman  and  the  Dissenter,  the  follower  of  Wes- 
ley and  the  disciple  of  Calvin,  the  men  who  make  infants 
church  members,  and  the  men  who  sturdily  deny  their  right 
to  such  membership.  We  cannot  conceive  any  gain  of 
effective  union,  any  real  diminution  of  controversy,  by 
such  flinging  of  the  walls  of  a  professed  union  around 
those  who  have  not  been  brought  into  the  unity  of  one 
creed,  and  cannot  labor  consistently  and  conscientiously 
within  the  enclosures  of  one  church.  He  who  knew  the 
worth  of  union,  as  its  most  ardent  advocates  never  have 
done, — He  whoimploreJit  of  the  Father  in  a  prayer  yet  to 
be  answered, — He  who  will  accomplish  it  in  his  own  good 
hour,  and  in  his  own  wiser  methods,  has  taught  us  in  that 
petition  itself  that  for  the  union  greater  sanctification 
is  needed,  and  that  the  process  to  sanctification  is  through 
obedience  to  the  truth.  Until  a  higher  grade  of  holiness, 
not  impeccable  indeed,  but  far  beyond  our  present  attain- 
ments, pervades  the  church,  her  union  would  form  her  into 
a  mass,  unwieldy  by  its  weight  and  oppressive  by  its 
power.  In  effecting  that  sanctification,  and  in  seeking  that 
union,  the  churches  would  sacrifice  the  very  means  of 
God's  own  appointment,  if  they  surrendered  truth,  as  they 
conscientiously  supposed  it,  for  the  sake  of  expediency  ; 
and  despairing  of  ultimate  union  on  God's  basis,  the  com- 
mon reception  of  the  truth,  sought  to  effect  it  upon  a  basis 
of  human  invention.  A  base  broader  than  the  truth  must 
rest  for  support  on  the  shifting  sands  of  interest,  opinion, 
and  fashion  ;  and  ultimately  sink  beneath  the  weight  which 
it  bears.  Mutual  sympathy  and  fraternal  conference  as  to 
the  fields  of  labor,  are  all  that  seem  needed.  To  secure 
these,  some  such  plan   as  Carey  wished  might  be  adopted. 


XXXVl  INTRODUCTION. 

— a  conference  of  evangelical  Christians,  to  be  held  every 
ten  years.  He  would  have  it,  for  the  sake  of  easier  access 
to  the  Eastern  missionaries,  held  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.* 

6.  A  question,  suggested  by  our  author,  with  regard  to 
the  duties  which  the  missionary  churches  of  the  age  owe 
to  the  Christians  of  Russia,!  leads  to  the  wider  inquiry,  in 
what  manner  should  those  now  laboring  for  the  heathen  ex- 
press their  sympathy  for  those  of  the  established  churches  of 
Europe  or  Asia,  that  although  nominally  Christian,  have  lost 
the  fervor  of  true  piety  ?  To  the  ill-disguised  Socinianism 
of  the  church  of  Geneva  :  to  the  Neology  that  but  recently 
bore  almost  unquestioned  sway  in  the  pulpits  and  theologi- 
cal chairs  of  large  portions  of  Germany  ;  to  the  formalism 
and  superstition  of  the  Greek  church,  with  a  ritual  in 
some  respects  even  more  cumbrous  than  that  of  Roman- 
ism ;  to  the  imbecility  of  the  Coptic  church,  and  the 
Paganized  and  spurious  Christianity  of  Abyssinia ;  to  the 
Armenian,  and  the  Chaldean  Christians,  and  the  other 
Christians  of  the  East  do  we  owe  nothing,  in  seeking  the 
evangelization  of  the  world  ?  There  are  portions  of  the 
heathen  world  we  cannot  reach  but  with  the  consent  of 
some  of  these  enfeebled  and  corrupt  churches.  If  we 
suppose  them,  as  do  some,  entitled  to  the  unquestioning 
recognition  of  all  their  claims,  would  not  the  same  princi- 
ple have  required  the  purest  of  apostolic  churches  to  have 
fraternized  with  the  guilty  churches  of  Sardis  and  Laod- 
icea  ?  And  here  is  seen  one  aspect  at  least  of  the  evils 
which  a  civil  establishment  inflicts  on  religion.  Wherev- 
er any  of  these  churches  are  the  creatures  of  the  state, 
representing  the  religion  of  the  rulers  of  the  lands  they  oc- 
cupy, any  interference,  however  innocent  and  scriptural, 
with  their  errors,  is  in  danger  of  being  regarded  as  an 
assault  on  the  political  institutions  of  the  country.  The 
apostate  church  has  but  to  call  for  the  aid  of  the  kingdom 
to  which  she  has  bound  herself,  and  dungeons  open  and 
chains  are  rattled  before  the  adventurous  evangelist,  to 
deter  his  temerity.  And  if  strong  in  the  simple  faith  of 
the  gospel,  he  perseveres  and  suffers,  though  with  the  heart 
of  a  martyr,  it  is  with  the  infamy  of  a  rebel.     On  the  other 

*  Life  of  Carey,  p.  323.  t  Page  335. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXVU 

hand,  do  the  devoted  ministers  of  a  purer  establishment, 
that  of  England,  for  instance,  seek  to  commend  the  true 
gospel  to  those  churches  who  have  declined  from  its  doc- 
trines and  its  holiness,  their  enterprise  is  regarded  with 
malignity,  and  with  the  continual  suspicion  that  it  shrouds 
political  designs  in  favor  of  the  country  from  which  they 
come,  and  that  the  garb  of  the  herald  of  the  cross  covers 
the  designs  of  the  spy  or  the  political  emissary.  All  the 
crimes,  too,  and  usurpations  of  the  Christian  country,  and 
from  these  what  political  power  is  free,  will  be  charged  by 
the  strangers  whom  the  missionary  visits,  on  his  church,  if 
endowed  and  established  by  the  nation. 

Yet  amid  all  these  disadvantages,  the  British  govern- 
ment has  lately  planted  a  missionary  bishop  beyond  its  own 
proper  territories,  having  his  seat  at  Jerusalem.  By  the 
'mandate  accompanying  his  appointment,  it  is  understood 
that  his  jurisdiction  is  defined  as  embracing  the  countries 
of  Syria,  Chaldea,  Egypt,  and  Assyria.  As  in  these  terri- 
tories, great  as  may  be  the  amount  of  her  commerce  and 
the  number  of  her  travellers,  Britain  yet  owns  not  a  foot 
of  soil,  and  in  all  of  these  countries  nominal  Christian 
churches  exist,  the  precedent  seems  one  that  should  have 
its  weight  with  some  who  are  inclined  to  condemn,  as  in- 
trusive and  unwarrantable,  all  interference  by  our  Chris- 
tian church  with  the  territory  of  another  community, 
claiming  to  believe  the  same  gospel./  To  sanction  as 
Christian  all  that  chooses  to  call  itself  by  that  honored 
name,  is  to  canonize  the  bats  that  cluster  around  some 
time-honored  cathedral,  and  claim  it  as  their  home.  It  is 
to  relinquish  one  of  the  first  principles  of  the  Reformation, 
and  condemn  as  rash  innovators  and  schismatics,  men  who 
have  died  the  martyr's  death,  and  have  hitherto  been  re- 
membered as  wearing  the  martyr's  crown. 

In  our  own  favored  land,  with  no  establishment  for  any 
sect,  and  protection  for  all,  no  Christian  church  can  hedge 
around  any  portion  of  our  territory  as  her  inheritance,  and 
forbid  all  trespassing  on  the  deserts  she  guards.  Each 
with  an  equal  right  to  proselyte,  and  each  laboring  side  by 
side.  Truth  has  all  the  advantages  she  asks;  and  Falsehood 
is  stripped  of  that  adventitious  patronage  from  the  state, 
which  she  has  no  right  to  ask.  Upon  the  same  principles,  it 
4* 


XXXVlll  INTRODUCTION. 

would  seem,  all  purer  Christian  churches,  those  established 
by  the  state,  or  those  independent  of  it,  whether  endowed 
by  government,  or  whether  left  portionless,  except  of  the 
promises  of  Christ  and  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  must 
claim  to  labor  when  they  enter  the  territory  covered  by  a 
church  whose  Christianity  is  but  nominal  or  declining.  If 
rejecting  the  principle  at  home,  where  they  are  endowed 
by  the  state,  they  must  adopt  the  principle  when  attempting 
labors  in  a  foreign  state.  And  thus  do  really  evangelical 
churches,  now  endowed  by  the  state,  find  themselves,  in 
their  missionary  zeal,  compelled  to  renounce  one  of  the 
foundations  of  an  establishment,  the  right  of  a  government 
to  provide  the  religion  of  the  nation.  The  universal  diffu- 
sion of  a  missionary  spirit,  in  regard  to  churches  having 
but  a  nominal  Christianity,  would  ultimately  undermine 
all  established  Christian  churches ;  a  result  its  earlier  ad- 
vocates never  perhaps  contemplated, — a  result  from  which 
many  of  its  friends  would  as  yet  shrink. 

That  most  were  to  be  hoped  from  a  movement  towards 
reformation,  emanating  from  the  bosom  of  such  a  declining 
church  itself,  is  agreed  by  all.  And  for  such  men  to  rise 
out  of  the  midst  of  the  surrounding  moral  desolation,  as 
Luther  and  Zuingle,  sprung  up  amid  the  darkness  of 
Romanism,  the  Christians  of  our  time  should  fervently  pray. 
Yet  when  such  a  movement  does  not  appear,  and  a  fallen 
church  gives  no  token  of  awaking,  it  is  neither  forbidden 
by  Scripture  nor  by  the  rights  of  nations,  that  the  citizens 
of  a  more  favored  country  should  use  their  personal  influ- 
ence to  evangelize  the  inhabitants  of  another  less  enlight- 
ened land.  No  statutes  can  abrogate  the  privileges  of  our 
common  brotherhood,  and  when  the  rising  faith  of  the 
church,  sweeping  over  the  metes  and  bounds  of  national 
division,  shall  pour  its  waters  into  lands  now  dyked  and 
guarded  by  an  established  church,  the  government,  how- 
ever mighty  its  resources,  or  eager  in  its  vigilance,  or  cruel 
in  its  enactments,  that  should  seek  to  bid  back  the  swell- 
ing flood,  will  be  as  wisely  employed  as  the  king  who 
chided  the  rising  billows  for  laving  his  royal  feet,  and  we 
may  add,  it  will  be  employed  as  successfully.  A  mightier 
voice  has  issued  its  decree,  that  the  uttermost  parts  of  our 
world  shall  be  the  possession  of  Christ ;  and  that  the  del- 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXIX 

uge  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  cover 
the  face  of  the  whole  earth. 

7.  The  duties  imposed  upon  the  Protestant  churches, 
by  the  reviving  zeal  of  Romanism,  and  its  rival  missions, 
planted,  as  many  of  those  more  recently  established  are, 
seemingly  where  they  might  best  check  the  missions  of 
Protestantism,  futnish  another  subject  of  inquiry.  In  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  as  in  Syria  and  in  Persia,  the  influence 
of  the  French  government  has  been  employed  to  foster 
Romish  priests  and  colleges,  one  of  whose  chief  designs 
seems  to  be  to  snatch  from  the  hands  of  Protestant  Chris- 
tians a  missionary  work  in  which  they  have  labored  long, 
and  in  some  of  these  fields  with  the  richest  blessing.  The 
apostate  church,  that  in  the  days  of  Napoleon,  seemed  to 
many  of  the  Protestants  of  Europe  sold  to  a  captivity 
from  which  there  could  be  no  return,  and  bowed  down  under 
a  decrepitude  never  to  be  remedied  by  any  skill,  has  dis- 
played a  vigor  and  enterprise  alike  astonishing  to  its 
friends  and  its  foes.  The  church,  of  which  La  Mennais 
spoke  not  long  since  as  having  the  dust  of  the  sepulchre 
on  its  mute  lips,  is  lifting  up  anew  that  voice,  whose  anath- 
ema once  shook  thrones,  and  its  tones  are  not  tremulous, 
though  now  it  utters  admonitions  where  once  it  pronounced 
its  interdicts.  The  restoration  of  the  Jesuit  order,  the 
most  able  and  unfaltering  champions  the  Romish  See 
has  ever  had,  seems  now  beginning  to  be  felt,  not  only 
in  the  work  of  education,  but  in  that  of  missions  also. 
They  are  planting  their  colleges  in  our  own  western  world 
and  in  the  mountains  of  Syria,  in  Protestant  England  as 
in  Catholic  Ireland.  The  last  Provincial  Council  of  the 
Romish  church  in  the  United  States  placed  all  the  Indian 
missions  in  this  country  under  the  charge  of  that  order, 
and  fathers  of  the  order  of  Loyola  are  now  laboring  beyond 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  has  been  said  that  all  the  Rom- 
ish missions  throughout  the  globe  have  recently  been 
placed  by  the  Roman  Pontiff  in  the  hands  of  the  same 
body.  However  this  may  be,  certain  it  is  that  the  great 
mission  seminary  at  Rome,  the  Propaganda,  has  been 
committed  to  them  as  instructers,*  and  thus  they  are  en- 
trusted with   shaping  the    character  and  prescribing  the 

*  Dublin  Review,  1842. 


Xl  INTRODUCTION. 

doctrinal  sentiments  of  the  more  able  and  influential  among 
the  rising  missionaries. 

The  rapid  increase  given  within  the  last  few  years,  to 
the  chief  Romish  body  for  the  support  of  missions,  the 
Society  at  Lyons,  is  certainly  not  among  the  least  remark- 
able signs  of  the  times.  Wiseman,  in  1836,  spoke  of  the 
sum  raised  by  this  institution  in  1834,  as  being  then  less 
than  that  received  by  "the  poorest  of  the  English  mission- 
ary societies  "  of  the  Protestant  churches,*  while  the 
annual  income  of  the  Propaganda,  as  he  stated,  did  not 
reach  =£30,000,  and  out  of  that  sum  its  one  hundred  stu- 
dents were  to  be  educated.  The  receipts  of  the  Lyons 
Society  for  1840  were  8484,000,  or  nearly  2,500,000 
francs.  This  does  not  represent  the  whole  amount  of  its 
expenditures,  for  having  on  hand,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
year,  802,941  francs,  its  whole  funds  for  the  year  were 
3,276,519  francs,  or  about  8649,000,  and  the  total  of  its 
expenditures  was  about  8528,000.  The  society  issues  the 
"  Annals  of  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,"  of  which  jour- 
nal it  prints  120,000  copies,  in  seven  languages.  Well 
may  it  seem  to  a  zealous  Romanist,  as  it  is  styled  by  De 
Geramb,  the  abbot  of  La  Trappe,  "  the  most  useful  enter- 
prise of  which  the  church  in  these  latter  days  can  boast.'' 
It  gathers  its  funds  mostly  in  very  small  amounts,  and  from 
the  poorer  classes,  and  to  induce  the  more  free  contributions 
of  the  faithful,  those  giving  regularly  to  it  receive  the  merit 
of  its  good  works.| 

To  these  renewed  efforts  in  the  field  of  foreign  missions, 
the  church  of  Rome  has  been  stimulated,  in  part  perhaps 
by  its  endeavors  to  discredit  Protestantism.  The  earlier 
assailants  of  the  Reformed  churches  were  accustomed  to 
name  among  the  evidences  of  the  divine  right  of  their  own 
Romish  church,  its  being  the  only  missionary  body.  Now 
they  must  content  themselves  with  laboring  to  prove  that 
their's  are  the  more  successful  labors.  Wiseman,  accord- 
ingly, in  a  course  of  sermons  preached  in  London,  during 
Lent,  in  the  year  1836,  devoted  two  lectures  to  an  exami- 
nation of  the  relative  resources  and  results  of  the  Catholic 

*  He  estimates  it  in  that  year  at  404,727  francs.— Lecture  on  Doct.  and  Prac.  of 
Catli.,  Oil.  I,  176. 

I  "  A  small  alms  and  a  short  prayer  are  alone  required  to  entitle  its  members  to 
have  a  share  in  the  merits  of  those  missionaries  who  expose  themselves  to  so 
many  dangers  and  suffer  so  many  privations."— GeraOT6's  Visit  to  Rome,  p.  54. — 
Am.  Ed. 


INTRODUCTION.  xli 

and  Protestant  missions.  He  would  fain  show  that  as  to 
the  laborers,  the  wealth  and  numbers  are  with  us ;  as  to 
converts,  the  success  is  almost  exclusively  with  them. 
Any  intelligent  Protestant  who  refers  to  his  pages,  will 
detect  the  grossly  prejudiced  and  partial  estimate  which 
he  has  formed  of  some  most  successful  endeavors  of  Protes- 
tant Christians  for  the  heathen,  and  discrepancies  between 
his  diminished  amount  of  Romish  labor  and  expenditure, 
and  the  accounts  elsewhere  given  by  Roman  Catholic  au- 
thorities. 

That  the  number  of  nominal  adherents  won  by  their 
earlier  or  more  recent  labors  to  the  religion  of  Christ  is 
great,  may  be  readily  allowed.  That  there  have  been 
among  the  missionaries  of  this  corrupt  church  men  of 
singular  disinterestedness,  ability  and  devotedness,  it  were 
equally  ungenerous  and  unjust  to  dispute.  But  the  mode 
to  which  they  have  resorted  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
proselytes,  and  the  principles  and  practices  in  which  multi- 
tudes of  those  proselytes  have  been  trained,  show  sufficiently 
that  in  some  countries  at  least  the  world  is  not  greatly 
the  debtor  of  such  evangelists,  and  leave  reason  to  fear  that 
among  vast  multitudes,  so  gathered  into  the  number  of 
Christ's  professed  disciples,  there  would  be  few  whom  he 
would  recognize  as  such  were  he  to  return  to  our  world, 
few  whom  he  will  acknowledge  in  the  day  of  judgment. 
When,  as  on  the  Orinooko  and  also  in  California,  they  en- 
couraged or  connived  at  forays  made  by  their  Indian  con- 
verts into  the  heathen  tribes  for  the  purpose  of  bringing 
in  as  captives  women  and  children  to  be  made  Christians, 
we  cannot  think  very  favorably  either  of  the  teacher  or  the 
proselyte.  As  to  their  converts  in  India,  setting  aside  the 
testimony  of  Dubois,  to  which  reference  has  already  been 
made,  one  of  their  missionary  prelates  in  that  country  has, 
in  our  own  times  used  strong  language,  when  declaring 
that  their  ''proselytes  have  rather  become  so  by  casualty, 
than  through  preaching.  In  ordinary  cases,  the  hope  of 
bettering  their  condition  induces  them  to  become  converts  to 
Christianity.''^  We  cannot  form  a  much  more  favorable 
opinion  of  the  spirituality  of  the  religion  they  planted  in 

*  Letter  of  F.  A.  Pezzoni,  bishop  of  Esbonen,  dated  Agra,  20  Aug.,  1832.  WolflPa 
Researches  and  Missionary  Labors,  from  1S31  to  1S34.  Philadelphia,  1837.  p.  213. 
Wolff  gives  the  original  Italian  at  page  206.  In  Read's  Memoirs  of  Babajee,  we 
need  not  therefore  wonder  to  find  it  said,  though  here  it  is  Protestant  authority, 


Xlii  INTRODUCTION. 

the  far-famed  missions  of  Paraguay,  when  we  hear  one  of 
the  missionaries  who  had  long  labored  there,  and  left  it 
only  on  the  suppression  and  exile  of  his  order,  Dobriz- 
hoffer,  declaring,  with  a  simplicity  and  candor  that,  how- 
ever characteristic  of  the  man,  were  scarce  to  have  been 
expected  in  a  Jesuit  father :  "  If,  according  to  St.  Paul, 
amongst  other  nations  faith  enters  by  the  ear,  with  the 
savages  of  Paraguay  it  can  only  he  thrust  in  hy  the  mouth. 
Hence  our  anxiety  lest  cattle  should  fail  us."*  And  else- 
where he  says,  "  The  most  eloquent  teacher  of  God's  word 
will  do  but  little  good  in  Paraguay,  unless  he  be  liberal 
in  clothing  and  feeding  his  disciples."!  Our  Lord  rejected 
the  disciples  of  the  loaves,  because  they  followed  him  mere- 
ly to  be  fed.  This  church  would  seem  to  hail  them  as 
converts,  whatever  be  their  motives.  A  recent  traveller, 
Forbes,  in  his  account  of  the  missions  of  California,  while 
aiming  to  exalt  them  at  the  expense  of  what  he  terms  "  the 
Methodist  and  Calvinist  missions,"  yet  describes  the  Indians 
as  degraded,  wretched  and  servile.  Even  the  language  of 
Southey,  when  painting  the  missions  of  Paraguay  in  glow- 
ing hues,  contains  admissions  that  show  sufficiently  that 
the  type  of  character  produced  was  not  that  favorable  to 
the  best  interests  of  the  race.| 

As  to  the  character  of  the  laborers  themselves  upon  whom 
Romanism  has  leaned  in  the  work  of  proselytism,  it  would 
be  unjust  to  forget  the  many  who  have  encountered  fearful 
peril,  privation  and  death  in  its  most  terrific  forms  with  a 

"The  vast  numbers  of  Hindoos  and  Mussulmans  converted  by  the  Romanists  differ 
but  little  from  their  heathen  neighbors  except  that,  having  thrown  off  the  few  re- 
straints which  caste  and  superstition  imposed,  they  enjoy  greater  license  to  indulge 
in  all  kinds  of  vice." — Christian  Brahmin,  I,  27. 
*  Dobrizhoffer.  Account  of  the  Abipones,  III,  391. 

t  Ibid.  II,  1.34.  The  work  of  Dobrizhoffer  was  published  in  Latin  by  the  author. 
An  English  translation  appeared  at  London,  made  by  a  daughter  of  Coleridge,  the 
poet,  who,  in  some  of  his  works,  speaks  with  paternal  pride  of  the  inerits  of  style  in 
the  version.  It  was  reviewed  in  the  London  Quarterly,  apparently  by  Southey,  at 
much  length,  and  furnished  him  also  with  the  incidents  of  his  "Tale  of  Paraguay," 
in  which  he  speaks  warmly  of  the  interest  of  the  work,  and  the  character  of  the 
writer. 

I  "  They  on  the  Jesuit,  who  was  nothing  loth, 

Reposed  alike  their  conscience  and  their  cares; 

And  he,  with  equal  faith,  the  trust  of  both 

Accepted  and  discharged.    The  bliss  is  theirs 

Of  that  entire  dependence,  that  prepares 

Entire  submission,  let  what  may  befal: 

And  his  whole  careful  course  of  life  declares 

That  for  their  good  he  holds  them  thus  in  thrall, 

Their  father  and  their  friend,  priest,  ruler,  all  in  all." 

Tale  of  Paraguay,  Canto  IV. 


INTRODUCTION.  xliii 

constancy  and  meek  courage,  that  the  men  of  a  purer  faith 
might  well  envy.  Of  their  earlier  laborers  in  China,  Milne 
has  said,  ''  The  learning,  personal  virtues  and  ardent  zeal 
of  some  of  them,  deserve  to  be  imitated  by  all  future  mis- 
sionaries ;  will  be  equalled  by  few,  and  perhaps  rarely  ex- 
ceeded by  any."* 

In  our  days,  their  missionaries  and  converts  in  Cochin- 
China  have  been  called  to  endure  trials  issuing  in  some 
cases  in  fearful  martyrdom,  and  their  faith  has  not  faltered. t 
Yet,  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century, when 
the  missions  of  Rome  were  in  their  glory  and  strength,  the 
Jesuit  Acosta  holds  language  with  regard  to  the  missiona- 
ries, that  has  been  quoted  by  Baxter,!  and  which  sufficient- 
ly shows  the  want  of  spirituality  in  many  of  these  evangelists 
of  the  heathen.  In  the  latter  portion  of  the  next  century 
were  found  among  the  emissaries  of  the  church  to  India  such 
men  as  the  missionary  bishop  of  Halicarnassus,  who  head- 
ed a  troop  of  two  thousand  Mahrattas,  plundered  villages, 
and  shared  the  booty  with  his  soldiers.  It  was  this  edifying 
personage  to  whom,  as  Voltaire  says,  Lalli,  the  French 
general,  was  accustomed  to  say  :  "  My  good  bishop,  how 
have  you  contrived  to  escape  hanging  ?"§  Of  the  arts  they 
have  used,  the  world  has  already  heard  too  much,  in  their 
eastern  and  their  western  fields  of  labor.  The  amount  of 
wrong  thus  done  to  the  cause  of  Christ  and  the  souls  of 
men  is  incalculable.  The  world  has  been  flattered  and 
humored  into  a  religion  that  left  its  worst  superstitions 
often  entirely  untouched,  and  but  threw  the  crucifix  and 
the  scapular  over  the  neck,  while  the  heart  surrendered 
none  of  its  old  idols,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  renewing 
grace  of  God.  And  even  in  the  best  of  both  teachers  and 
proselytes,there  was  a  reliance  on  human  merit,  and  an  ap- 
peal to  self-righteousness,  that  made  privation,  torture  and 
even  death  welcome,  because  it  was  supposed  that  they 
gave  claims  on  heaven. 

It  is  a  gratifying  circumstance,  that,  amid  its  increased 
zeal  for  foreign  missions  the  hold  of  the  Romish  See  or 
some  of  its  home  possessions  seems  evidently  loosened. 

*  Medhursl's  China,  p.  203. 

t  This  persecution  commenced  in  1333.  Already  400  churches  have  been  destroy- 
ed by  it. — Wise77ian. 
1  Works,  Orme's  Ed.,  vol.  II,  23. 
§  Voltaire,  Fragm.  Historiq.  sur  I'lnde,  xiii,  xv. 


Xliv  INTRODUCTION. 

Spain  herself  and  the  countries  speaking  the  Spanish  lan- 
guage, are  no  longer  governed  by  the  Pontiff  with  that 
stern  and  unquestioned  sway  which  he  once  exercised.  It 
may  yet  be  the  policy  of  Protestantism  to  carry  ''  the  war 
into  Africa,"  by  missionary  efforts,  for  the  benefit  of  south- 
ern Europe  and  South  America,  thus  retaliating  in  her  own 
ancient  dominions,  the  attempted  inroads  of  the  Romish 
See  on  the  fields  of  Protestant  missions.  That  the  Refor- 
mation should  have  been  checked  and  crushed  as  it  was  in 
Spain  and  Italy,  was  among  the  mysterious  dispensations 
of  Providence.  Hindrances  then  existing,  are  lessened,  if 
not  entirely  removed,  in  our  day. 

Meanwhile  the  evident  duty  of  Protestant  Christians  is 
to  emulate  all  of  zeal,  and  energy,  and  enterprise,  and  self- 
denial,  that  may  be  exhibited  in  the  past  or  present  move- 
ments of  the  Romish  missions.  The  issue  of  the  conflict 
cannot  be  doubtful,  for  prophecy  has  sealed  the  fate  of  that 
antichristian  church.  She  has  herself  pronounced  her  own 
doom  by  setting  herself  so  madly  against  the  word  of  God. 
It  is  to  the  undue  veneration  for  this,  and  the  unwise  em- 
ployment of  it,  that  Wiseman  in  his  laborious  comparison 
of  the  missions  of  the  rival  communions,  ascribes  the  failure 
he  imagines  himself  to  have  discovered  in  the  missionary 
efforts  of  the  Reformed  churches.  *'The  blessing  of 
Heaven  is  not  upon  the  work,  nor  his  approbation 
upon  its  principle, the  all-sufficiency  of  the  writ- 
TEN WORD."*  The  strong  language  in  which  the  bulls  of 
the  Vatican  have,  in  recent  years,  condemned  the  move- 
ments of  the  Bible  Society,  the  mingling  of  inveterate  dis- 
like and  ill-disguised  alarm  that  breathe  through  these 
documents,  whenever  they  touch  upon  the  free  dissemina- 
tion of  the  Scriptures ;  and  the  share  which  their  love  and 
reverence  for  the  Scriptures,  and  their  desire  for  its  study 
by  each  private  Christian,  had  in  bringing  down  upon  the 
Jansenists,  the  overwhelming  condemnation  prv^.^ounced 
upon  them  by  the  famed  bull  Unigenitus,  suggest  some 

*  Wiseman.  Lect.  on  Doct  and  Prac.  I,  169.  In  the  same  spirit,  Judson  and  his 
heroic  wife,  wliose  name  is  an  honor  to  her  country  and  sex.  are  spoken  of,  as 
*'  these  simple  persons,"  for  laboring  to  translate  tlie  vvhole'Bible  into  Burman  ;  and 
their  mission  is  pronounced  "a  complete  failure."  We  question  whether  the 
Catholic  missionaries,  who,  according  to  his  own  showing,  commenced  their  labors 
in  Burmah  in  1719,  more  than  a  century  since,  can  show  any  results  to  be  com- 
pared with  those  of  the_ labors  of  the  Judsons. 


INTRODUCTIOX.  xlv 

significant  lessons.  They  prove  very  conclusively  that 
Rome  knows,  as  one  of  her  most  vulnerable  points,  her 
denial  of  the  Scriptures  to  the  laity;  and  dreads,  as  the 
most  dangerous  of  her  assailants,  those  who  translate  and 
distribute,  and  by  their  unwearied  preaching  commend  the 
written  word  of  God  to  the  nations.  In  one  of  those  apoc- 
ryphal tales  which  this  church  has  introduced  into  the 
canon  of  Revelation,  the  prophet  Daniel  is  described  as 
poisoning  the  idol  god  of  Babylon  with  some  strange  com- 
pound. The  fable  seems  one  in  which  Rome  has  fore- 
shadowed her  own  fate.  Not  by  the  force  of  persecution, 
not  by  the  aid  of  laws  and  battles  and  treaties, — not  by  the 
rise  of  some  new  Cromwell,  the  cannon  of  whose  navies 
shall  shake  the  Vatican  as  once  did  those  of  his  admiral 
Blake, — not  by  the  appearance  of  some  new  Gustavus  as- 
serting the  liberties  of  the  Protestant  north  at  the  head  of 
his  martial  squadrons  on  the  fields  of  some  new  Lutzen, — 
not  by  the  re-appearance  of  Bourbon  conducting  again  his 
German  troops  to  the  sack  of  the  sacred  city,  or  of  Bona- 
parte sending  his  infidel  Frenchmen  to  lead  the  successor 
of  Peter  in  captivity,  —  but  by  the  simple  Scriptures, 
the  idol  of  the  prophetical  Babylon  is  yet  to  fall.  Truth 
shall  poison  the  dragon.  The  Lord,  "6?/  the  breath  of  his 
mouth,''  shall  consume  Antichrist.  By  setting  herself  in 
this  determined  hostility  against  the  use  of  the  Scriptures 
of  God,  the  Romish  church  has  inserted  her  name  in  the 
same  list  with  those  of  Antiochus,  under  the  old,  and 
Dioclesian  under  the  new  dispensation,  who  in  like  manner 
sought  to  extirpate  the  book  of  God.  She  has  ascertained 
her  character,  she  has  decided  her  fate. 

Imbedded  as  that  book  has  become  in  the  literature  of 
the  world, — translated  as  even  in  our  own  times  it  has 
been,  into  all  the  chief  dialects  of  the  globe, — it  is  beyond 
the  reaf'^  of  her  endeavors.  Its  past  victories  are,  to  the 
most  cai'eless  observer,  the  pledge  of  its  future  conquests. 
It  smote  Jove  on  the  summit  of  his  shadowy  Olympus,  and 
the  gods  of  classic  mythology,  the  rabble  of  their  Pantheon, 
vanished  before  its  sacred  might.  It  smote  the  Odin  and 
the  Thor  of  our  forefathers  in  northern  Europe,  and  routed 
the  phantoms  of  the  Valhalla.  Even  thus  shall  it  smite  in 
its  irresistible  energy  the  gods  of  all  nations ;  and  be  seen, 
5 


iski  i?i?rE:e4)trcTiorr. 

3t  iasty  the  literature  of  all  land's  doing  it  homage,  exaitecl 
sbove  all  other  volumes^,  tradition&  and  laws,  as  the  history 
©f  the  ViforkF&  one  Redeemer j  the  law  that  giveth  life^  the 
Book  of  God„ 

In  the  remarks  which  have  been  made,  it  will  be  ob- 
served^  that  we  have  not  generally  taken  up  the  topics 
suggested  by  our  author.  The  amount  of  effort  due  tO' 
the  Jews  is,  for  instance,  an  inquiry  proposed  by  him,, 
to  which  we  have  not  referred.  The  questions  thus  to  be 
settled  are  many  and  grave.  We  have  but  cursorily  no- 
ticed a  few  that  from  various  causes  have  interested  us. 
It  has  not  been  with  the  hope  of  throwing  much  light  upon 
them.  But,  as  in  the  missionary  enterprise,  the  contribu- 
tions of  the  Sabbath  school  child  and  the  humble  offering 
of  the  widow  are  cast  together  into  the  treasury,  so  must  it 
be  in  settling  the  policy  of  that  enterprise.  The  mission- 
ary work  is  eminently,  in  all  its  departments,  a  collective 
and  a  cumulative  one.  These  reflections,  thrown  out 
amid  the  pressure  of  other  engagements,  are  cast,  as  of  old 
the  soldiers  cast  each  man  his  stone  on  the  grave  of  some 
fallen  chieftain.  Gradually  the  heap  became  a  monu- 
ment, not  only  towering  over  the  plain  around,  but  a  sea- 
mark eyed  by  the  voyager  on  the  distant  waters.  Every 
mite  given,  every  inquiry  made  as  to  our  own  means  of 
aiding  the  enterprise,  every  prayer  breathed  for  its  success, 
goes  to  swell  the  amount  of  interest  felt  in  that  cause  of 
missions  which  must  be  dear  to  the  philanthropist,  the  pa- 
triot and  the  Christian, — goes  towards  the  accomplishment 
of  the  promises  which  assure  us  of  its  final  triumph  in  bring- 
ing the  world  again  into  obedience  to  its  Maker  and  God. 

W.  R.  W. 


THE  GREAT  COMMISSION. 


PART  I 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE  VIEWED  IN  ITS  RELA- 
TION TO  THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE    SCRIPTURE    THEORY    OF    CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY    FOR 
THE  EVANGELIZATION  OF  THE  V/ORLD,  STATED  AND  EXPLALNED. 

I.  Mutual  dependence  and  influence  is  the  law  of  the 
universe.  Look  in  whatever  direction  and  examine 
whatever  object  we  may,  we  find  nothing  insulated  and 
alone.  From  the  globe  we  inhabit,  and  which  is  one  of 
a  visible  community  of  worlds,  up  to  the  great  sidereal 
system,  the  whole  of  which  is  apparently  moving  to- 
gether through  space,  and  down  to  the  minutest  atom 
that  floats  in  the  air,  all  are  bound  together,  and  con- 
stantly acting  on  each  other,  by  definite  and  universal 
laws.  The  body  of  the  reader  and  the  book  which  he 
is  reading,  are  held  by  gravitation  in  union  with  the 
remotest  parts  of  the  created  system  ;  while  the  material 
influences  constantly  transmitted  from  the  most  distant 
regions  of  space,  place  them  in  physical  contact  with 
the  universe. 

4 


38  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

In  this  literal  dependence  of  every  part  of  the  mate- 
rial economy  on  every  other  part,  we  behold  an  image 
of  the  reciprocal  action  and  mutual  relation  of  all  ani- 
mated being.  Here,  each  is  connected  with  all — and 
the  whole  to  God.  Here,  in  the  absence  of  sin,  we 
behold  the  sublime  spectacle  of  the  infinitely  blessed 
God  surrounded  by  distinct  orders  of  sentient,  happy 
beings ;  so  various  as  to  reach  from  the  archangel  down 
to  the  insect,  yet  so  closely  related  as  parts  of  a  mighty 
whole,  that  no  single  member  can  be  detached  and 
made  independent  of  the  rest ;  while  the  well-being 
of  each  is  an- ingredient  in  the  happiness  of  the  whole; 
and  all,  according  to  their  respective  natures,  ascribe 
glory  to  Him,  their  centre  and  their  source,  by  whom 
they  are  alike  pervaded,  and  in  whom  they  are  all  one. 

That  this  interdependence,  as  far  as  it  relates  to 
the  human  family,  is  part  of  an  original  plan,  is  ob- 
vious. By  creating,  at  first,  one  common  father  of  the 
species,  the  Almighty  designed  that  each  individual 
should  stand  related  to  all  the  rest,  and  feel  himself 
pledged  to  promote  their  happiness.  By  rendering  us 
necessary  to  each  other's  welfare,  he  sought  to  train  us 
up  to  a  humble  imitation  of  his  own  goodness,  to 
make  every  hand  and  heart  a  consecrated  channel  for 
his  love  to  flow  in,  and  thus  to  find  our  own  happiness 
in  the  happiness  of  others.  In  such  a  state,  he  who 
approached  nearest  to  the  pattern  of  the  Divine  Be- 
nevolence, would  necessarily  have  been  the  object  of 
the  greatest  admiration ;  and  as  admiration  leads,  by 
a  law  of  our  nature,  to  imitation,  men  would  have  been 
always  advancing  towards  higher  and  higher  degrees 
of  perfection.  Inferior  excellence  being  constantly 
drawn  upwards  by  the  strong  moral  attraction  of  that 
which  was  above  it,  a  process  of  assimilation  to  the 
blessed  God  would  have  been  perpetually  going  on, 
which  would  have  rendered  earth  a  copy  of  heaven. 

The  connexion  then  subsisting  between  them  would 
have  been  one,  not  merely  of  mutual  dependence  but 
of  reciprocal  influence.     And  this  moral  influence  it  is 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  39 

which  would  have  invested  their  mutual  relation  with 
so  much  importance.  Could  we  have  looked  down 
upon  them  we  should  have  seen  that  every  word  ut- 
tered, projected  an  influence;  that  every  action  per- 
formed, drew  after  it  a  train  of  influence ;  that  every 
relation  sustained,  was  a  line  along  which  was  con- 
stantly transmitted  a  vital  influence ;  that  every  indi- 
vidual was  a  centre  ever  radiating  streams  of  living 
moral  influence. 

Could  we  have  selected  one  such  individual  and  have 
investigated  his  moral  history,  we  should  have  found 
that  from  the  first  moment  of  his  existence  his  cha- 
racter went  on  daily  and  hourly  streaming  with  more 
than  electric  fluid — with  a  subtle  penetrating  element 
of  moral  influence  ;  that  in  whatever  society  he  min- 
gled, he  left  on  their  character,  secret,  perhaps,  but 
not  imperceptible  traces  that  he  had  been  among  them ; 
that  his  influence  operated  involuntarily :  for  though  he 
might  choose,  in  any  given  instance,  what  he  would 
do,  yet  having  done  it,  he  could  not  choose  what  in- 
fluence it  should  have ;  that  it  operated  universally ; 
never  terminating  on  himself,  but  extending  to  all 
within  his  circle,  emanating  from  each  of  these  again 
as  from  a  fresh  centre,  and  thus  transmitted  on  in  silent 
but  certain  effect  to  the  outermost  circle  of  social  ex- 
istence ;  that  it  was  indestructible,  not  a  particle  ever 
being  lost,  but  the  whole  of  it  taken  up  into  the 
general  system  of  cause  and  effect,  and  always  in 
operation  somewhere.  And  thus  we  should  have  seen 
that  though  he  was  apparently  as  isolated  as  a  ship 
in  the  midst  of  the  x\tlantic,  the  waves  which  the 
motion  of  that  ship  generates  from  shore  to  shore,  were 
only  an  image  of  his  ever-circling,  widening,  shoreless 
influence ;  and  that  the  influence  which  thus  blended 
and  bound  him  up  with  the  whole  race,  invisible  and 
impalpable  as  it  is,  is  yet  the  mightiest  element  of 
society,  the  element  wielded  by  God  himself. 

But,  then,  if  such  the  relation  and  such  the  distinct 
influence  of  these  holy,  happy  beings,  their  responsi- 


40  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

bility  for  the  use  of  that  influence  would  have  been 
proportionate.  The  very  fact  that  God  had  invested 
them  with  such  influence  would,  without  any  verbal 
command,  have  been  regarded  by  them  as  a  sufiicient 
expression  of  his  will  that  they  must  use  it  to  the 
utmost,  and  for  his  glory.  They  could  not  have  Hved 
to  themselves  if  they  would ;  for  from  the  moment 
they  began  to  live,  their  influence  necessarily  linked 
them  to  the  universe.  And  they  would  not  if  they 
could,  for  they  would  have  found  that  living  to  God 
was  usefulness,  excellence,  and  happiness,  all  in  one. 
They  would  have  found  that  not  more  certainly  is  the 
order  of  the  material  world  maintained  by  the  action  of 
matter  upon  matter,  than  the  order  of  the  moral  world 
is  by  the  action  of  mind  upon  mind.  And  under  the 
hallowed  influence  of  that  reciprocal  action,  they  would 
have  been  perpetually  brightening  and  rising  into  the 
image  of  God. 

How  far  the  inhabitants  of  the  celestial  world  would 
—on  the  hypothesis  of  man  having  retained  his  primal 
innocence — have  influenced,  by  intercourse,  the  human 
character,  admits  of  little  more  than  conjecture.  That 
He  who  has  united  distinct  material  worlds  by  indisso- 
luble bonds,  should  leave  two  orders  of  holy  intelligences, 
both  of  which  had  not  only  sprung  from  the  same  Fount 
of  being,  but  acknowledged  the  same  laws,  and  exhibited 
the  same  paternal  image,  to  pursue  their  respective 
courses  in  perfect  and  unpassable  separation  from  each 
other,  is,  to  say  the  least,  highly  improbable.  That  the 
angelic  "sons  of  God"  took  a  deep  and  rejoicing  interest 
in  the  creation  of  our  world,  is  fact  of  divine  revelation. 
And  the  scriptural  history  of  the  fall  of  man  leaves  us 
to  infer,  that,  if  such  of  the  angelic  order  as  "kept  not 
their  first  estate"  had  access  to  the  human  mind  for 
purposes  of  evil,  those  of  them  who  retained  their  original 
purity  would  not  have  been  denied  access  of  a  similar 
kind  for  purposes  of  good.  And  thus,  the  intelligent 
universe  would  have  exhibited  the  sublime  spectacle  of 
distinct  orders  of  holy  beings,  each  composed  of  innu- 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  41 

merable  members,  producing  and  receiving  continual 
modifications  of  character  by  the  mutual  action  of  all 
its  parts ;  and  that  modification  assimilating  them  to 
the  central  and  solar  glory,  on  whom  they  were  all  alike 
dependent,  and  in  whom  they  were  all  one. 

II.  But  suppose,  it  might  have  been  said — suppose 
that,  by  some  dreadful  possibility,  a  principle  of  evil 
should  obtain  entrance  into  this  all-related  system.  If 
that  entrance  should  be  obtained,  first,  indeed,  among 
the  members  of  the  human  order,  it  is  possible  that  the 
members  of  the  angelic  order  being  less  accessible  to  us 
than  we  are  to  them,  might  escape  the  contagion.  But 
if  it  should  obtain,  first,  in  the  higher  order,  how  likely 
is  it  that  it  will  descend  and  be  communicated,  by 
intercourse,  to  the  family  of  man.  In  that  event — 
the  very  prospect  and  possibility  of  which  appals — 
the  reciprocal  influence  of  tnind  on  mind,  mightily 
efficacious  as  it  is  for  good,  miay  become  equally  effi- 
cacious for  evil.  One  being  may  become  the  tempter 
of  another.  By  the  union  of  each  w-iih  all,  the  moral 
poison  may  be  taken  up  and  circulated  through  the 
whole  social  system.  The  very  first  sin  would  be  felt 
by  all  the  race,  and  to  the  last  moment  of  time.  If 
any  thing  were  then  wanting  to  hasten  and  seal  the 
self-destruction  of  the  guilty  community,  it  would  be 
only  the  presence  of  some  leading  spirit  who  should 
be  competent  to  organize  and  w'ork  its  complicated 
agencies  on  a  comprehensive  plan.  Should  such  a 
consummation  arrive,  how  direful  the  results  to  those 
immediately  involved,  and  how  incalculable  the  efiects 
on  the  universe  at  large  ! 

Now  this  hypothetical  case  is  only  a  literal  descrip- 
tion of  the  history  and  actual  condition  of  the  world. 
At  the  time  of  the  creation  a  principle  of  evil  w^as  at 
large  in  the  universe.  Satan,  together  with  an  un- 
known multitude  of  associate  rebels,  having  swerved 
from  his  allegiance  to  "the  blessed  and  only  Poten- 
tate," had  been  driven  from  the  immediate  presence  of 
4* 


42  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

God,  cut  off  from  the  loyal  part  of  the  creation,  and 
doomed  to  be  the  prey  of  his  own  mighty  depravity. 
Actuated  by  that  universal  law  by  which  each  being 
and  principle  seeks  to  conform  all  things  to  its  own 
nature,  and  stimulated  by  implacable  hatred  against 
God,  he  came  to  efface  from  our  world  the  divine 
image  and  to  stamp  his  own  on  its  breast  instead.  In 
the  execution  of  this  dreadful  project  he  succeeded. 
By  no  employment  of  force,  but  by  the  simple  action 
of  mind  on  mind  through  the  medium  of  the  senses, 
Satan  prevailed  on  man  to  sin.  As  the  first  sinner 
was  the  first  man,  human  nature  was  poisoned  in  its 
fountain.  The  first  man  is  sinning  still,  in  efi:ect,  in 
each  of  all  his  posterity.  The  first  sin  is  thrilling 
still ;  and  will  vibrate  on  through  the  whole  line  of 
being,  till  it  reaches  the  last  of  human  kind.  Plow 
closely  compacted,  how  vitally  interwoven,  must  be 
the  system  of  our  mutual  dependence,  and  how  mys- 
teriously penetrating  and  pervading  the  principle  of 
our  reciprocal  influence,  wdien  a  single  sin  can  thus 
distract  and  derange  the  whole  ! 

Yet  now  it  was  that  man  first  made  the  monstrous 
essay  of  living  to  himself.  As  if  he  had  only  to  with- 
draw his  allegiance  from  God  in  order  to  dissolve 
relations  with  the  universe,  selfishness  now  becaine 
the  law  of  his  sinful  being.  But  such  separation  was 
impossible.  Live  to  hiuisclf,  in  the  sense  of  selfish 
appropriation,  he  might ;  but  detach  himself  from  the 
relations  of  dependence  and  influence  he  could  not. 
Cease  to  be  the  centre  of  a  hallowed  influence  he 
might,  but  cease  to  be  the  centre  of  all  influence  he 
could  not.  From  the  moment  he  ceased  to  be  a  uni- 
versal good  he  became  a  universal  evil.  Each  act 
of  selfishness  is  the  infliction  of  a  universal  injury. 
And  every  successive  sin  awakens  afresh  the  echoes  of 
the  original  curse.  Not  only  did  our  primary  relations 
of  mutual  influence  remain,  the  introduction  of  sin 
appears  to  have  stimulated  them  into  preternatural 
activity  and  power.      Every  man  in  eftect  became  a 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  43 

Jeroboam — his  life  laid  a  train  of  evil  for  multitudes, 
and  for  ages  to  come.  His  infantine  hand  could  open 
a  floodgate  of  evil  which  the  arm  of  Omnipotence 
alone  could  shut.  His  careless  laugh  could  do  more 
to  counteract  a  moral  principle  than  the  proclamation 
of  a  law  could  do  to  enforce  it.  Though  touching 
only  one  point  in  society,  he  could  send  an  impulse 
of  evil  through  the  whole.  While  the  thunders  of 
Sinai  soon  died  away  to  a  whisper  on  the  ear  of 
the  world,  many  a  whisper  of  evil,  as  it  passed  from 
lip  to  lip,  waxed  louder  and  louder,  till  nations  echoed 
with  the  sound,  and  distant  ages  received  its  reverber- 
ations as  possessing  all  the  authority  of  law. 

Parental  influences,  blending  with  the  first  rudi- 
ments of  infant  being,  tainted  character  in  its  very 
source.  Familiar  intercourse  became  one  of  the  grand 
ordinances  of  mutual  temptation  and  ruin.  Relation- 
ships, calculated  to  circulate  happiness  through  all  the 
veins  of  the  social  system,  were  perverted  by  sin  into 
so  many  channels  of  destruction.  Tendencies  and 
influences  of  evil  which  had  long  been  gathering, 
gradually  assun:ied  the  definite  and  enduring  form  of 
civil  government,  and  gave  a  character  to  nations ; 
from  which  again,  as  from  so  many  centres,  they  pro- 
pagated their  eflects  through  all  the  globe  and  for  all 
time.  Evil  example,  acquiring  the  despotic  power 
of  precedent  and  custom,  showed  itself  stronger  than 
any  thing  human  which  could  be  brought  to  coun- 
teract it ;  tended  to  displace  every  other  power,  and 
claimed  to  reign  alone.  In  a  w^ord,  the  social  principle 
in  all  its  forms,  entered  into  the  service  of  sin,  and 
showed  itself  mightier  for  evil  than  for  good.  Thrones 
and  temples,  collecting  the  scattered  elements  of  evil, 
concentrated,  strengthened,  and  gave  them  back  again 
to  the  world  under  the  solemn  names  of  law  and 
religion.  Yes,  religion  itself,  or  that  at  least  which 
bore  the  name,  lived  only  to  aggravate  the  evil  and 
to  keep  it  in  constant  and  destructive  circulation.  Satan 
became  '^  the  god  of  this  world."     Wherever  he  looked, 


44  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITT 

the  expanse  was  his  own.  Temptation  in  his  hands 
had  become  a  science,  and  sin  was  taught  by  rule. 
The  world  was  for  him  one  storehouse  of  evil — an 
armory,  in  which  every  object  and  event  ranked  as  a 
weapon,  and  all  were  classed  and  kept  ready  for 
service.  He  beheld  the  complicated  machinery  of  evil 
which  his  mighty  malignity  had  constructed  in  full  and 
efficient  operation,  and  the  whole  resuhing  in  a  vast, 
organized,  and  consolidated  empire. 

But  more ;  not  only  did  the  laws  of  our  mutual 
influence  remain — not  only  did  sin  stimulate  them  into 
fearful  activity — they  increased  in  power  with  each  suc- 
cessive age.  The  mechanical  philosophy  informs  us 
that,  on  the  principle  of  the  equality  of  action  and 
reaction,  no  motion  impressed  by  natural  causes,  or  by 
human  agency,  is  ever  obliterated.  No  sound  or  sen- 
timent therefore,  which  has  ever  been  uttered,  is  or  can 
be  lost.  The  pulsations  of  the  air  which  the  utterance 
set  in  motion,  continue  in  their  effect  to  operate  still ; 
so  that  every  sound  or  sentiment  will  be  recoverable 
in  the  most  distant  ages.  No  deed  has  ever  been 
performed  without  leaving  behind  it,  on  some  part  of 
the  material  universe,  an  indestructible  witness  to  its 
existence.  Had  any  one  of  all  these  sentiments  and 
deeds  never  been  uttered  or  performed,  certain  im- 
pressions would  have  been  wanting  from  the  material 
elements  which  they  now  contain  ;  so  that  they  form 
at  this  moment  a  minute  and  faithful  record,  to  an  eye 
capable  of  reading  it,  of  all  the  eventful  past.  Their 
existing  slate  is  the  complicated  result  of  all  the  im- 
pressions produced  on  them  from  the  commencement 
of  time,  and  presents  to  the  eye  of  Omniscience 
a  vast  book  of  remembrance,  from  whose  unerring 
pages  he  could  read  forth  at  large  the  history  of  the 
world. 

Just  so,  when  the  world  had  existed  four  thousand 
years,  its  moral  condition  was  the  exact  result  of  the 
moral  influences  of  all  the  past ;  for  it  had  received 
the  collected  effect  of  the  whole.     Not  only  are  all 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  45 

contemporaneous  things  mutually  influenced  and  con- 
nected ;  but  there  is  also  a  constant  increase  in  the 
onward  course  and  widening  stream  of  influence  from 
age  to  age.  As  every  generation  owes  some  part  of 
its  character  to  that  which  preceded  it,  so  it  imparts 
some  portion  of  its  own  to  that  which  follows  it,  and 
thus  propagates*  the  blended  and  augmented  influences 
of  itself  and  all  its  predecessors.  And  this  shows  the 
utter  impossibility  there  was  that  man  himself  should 
ever  remedy  his  depraved  condition.  By  necessity  of 
nature,  it  became  worse  and  worse.  Each  age  in  suc- 
cession inheriting  the  accumulated  evils  of  the  past, 
and  adding  to  them  something  of  its  own,  transmitted 
the  whole  to  that  which  followed,  and  thus  propelled 
the  world  in  its  downward  course  with  an  ever  augment- 
ing force.  While  the  air  he  breathed  was  only  the 
record  of  the  past,  the  moral  atmosphere  in  which  he 
moved,  from  the  first  moment  of  his  existence  to  the 
last,  was  not  merely  the  record,  but  the  substance  of 
the  past ;  and  as  such  it  was  one  of  the  elements,  a  part 
of  the  material,  out  of  which  his  character  was  neces- 
sarily formed.  It  was  the  atmosphere  of  a  pesthouse, 
and  he  entered  it  not  merely  to  breathe  the  deadly 
infection  of  all  who  had  preceded  him  there,  but  to  add 
10  it  the  infection  of  his  own  disease  for  all  who  came 
after  him.  So  that,  even  then,  when,  compared  with 
the  unity  and  amity  of  heaven,  mankind  presented  the 
aspect  of  mutual  hostility  and  universal  disorganization, 
it  might  most  truly  have  been  said,  in  the  sense  of 
relative  influence,  "no  man  liveth  to  himself;"  every 
act  of  selfishness  and  sin  is  the  infraction  of  a  universal 
law,  and  as  such  the  infliction  of  an  universal  evil. 

III.  What,  then,  is  all  lost  ?  Is  the  benevolent  de- 
sign of  God  in  appointing  the  laws  of  our  reciprocal 
dependence  and  influence,  irretrievably  defeated  .''  Was 
the  dreadful  event  of  its  perversion  unforeseen  and 
unprovided  for  ?  Has  the  chain  of  dependence  which 
unites  us  together,  passed  entirely  into  the  hands  of  the 


46  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

Destroyer,  and  is  it  henceforth  to  be  used  only  for 
dragging  mankind  together  to  perdition  ?  If  not,  lohere 
is  the  remechj  9  What  can  be  the  nature  of  that  plan 
which,  when  all  the  influences  of  earth  have  been  per- 
verted to  evil,  can,  without  doing  violence  to  any 
original  principle  convert  the  whole  into  good  ?  What 
can  be  the  nature  of  that  Being  who,  coming  into  the 
midst  of  a  world  where  all  men  are  laboring  to  live 
to  themselves,  can  say,  with  a  power  which  fulfils  its 
own  word,  ''no  man  liveth  to  himself?" — vvho  caa 
arrest  a  world  that  has  broken  away  from  its  proper 
centre,  and  can  return  it  to  its  appointed  orbit ; — who 
can  stand  in  the  midst  of  the  great  vortex  of  selfishness, 
and  say  to  the  mighty  maelstroom,  in  the  height  and 
fury  of  its  all-absorbing  whirl,  "flow  to  the  circum- 
ference," and  say  it  with  an  effect  which  can  make  it 
refund  and  float  its  choicest  treasures  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth  ?  in  a  word,  which  can  make  men  who  were 
their  own  centre  and  circumference,  take  Him  for 
their  centre,  and  for  their  circumference  the  universe  ? 
What  can  be  the  nature  of  such  a  Being,  and  where  is 
he  to  be  found  ? 

"O  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and 
the  knowledge  of  God!"  Not  only  was  the  fearful 
catastrophe  not  unforeseen,  the  event  demonstrated 
that  mercy  had  only  been  waiting  the  moment  of  its 
occurrence,  in  order  to  unfold  a  plan  which  was  evi- 
dently calculated  on  the  certainty  of  that  moment  arriv- 
ing— which  took  advantage  of  all  its  dreadful  pecu- 
liarities— and  of  which  every  subsequent  event  in  the 
divine  economy  has  been  only  a  constituent  part,  and 
every  age  witnessed  the  progressive  fulfilment.  And 
still  more ;  not  only  does  the  economy  of  our  redemp- 
tion propose  to  mitigate  the  destructive  tendency  of 
our  influence  on  each  other,  it  actually  presses  that 
influence  into  its  own  service,  and  proposes,  by  the 
agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  sanctify  and  employ  it  as 
the  chosen  instrumentality  by  which  to  expel  from  the 
earth  the  evils  produced  by  its  perversion ;  till  every 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  47 

man  shall  have  once  more  become  what  he  was  primarily 
formed  to  be,  an  agent  of  unmingled  good  to  every 
other  man  J  and  the  world  be  restored  to  God.  AVithout 
repealing  or  deranging  any  of  the  original  relations  or 
existing  arrangements  of  nature,  though  they  had  all 
been  perverted  into  means  of  destruction,  a  plan  is 
superinduced  which  proposes  to  turn  all  those  relations 
and  arrangements  to  the  highest  account,  as  the  means 
of  his  recovery ;  to  make  the  chain  of  our  mutual  de- 
pendence once  more  fast  to  the  throne  of  God. 

The  seat  of  that  plan  was  the  bosom  of  God :  the 
essence  of  that  plan  was,  that  the  highest  influence  in 
the  universe  should  be  embodied  and  brought  to  bear 
on  us  ;  an  influence  emanating  from  Him  who  con- 
centrates all  the  energies  of  the  universe  in  himself; 
an  influence  streaming  from  the  open  heart  of  infinite 
love  should  discharge  its  power  on  the  heart  of  the 
world.  The  obstacle  to  that  plan  lay  in  the  apparent 
impossibility  of  reconciling  such  benevolence  with  the 
known  and  necessary  hostility  of  God  against  sin ;  of 
exercising  such  restorative  influence  on  man,  without 
relaxing  general  obligation,  and  thus  difl:using  a  dis- 
organizing influence  through  the  universe  at  large. 
But  the  organ  and  agent  of  that  plan  came  forth  from 
his  bosom,  equal  to  all  its  conditions,  and  bent  on  its 
fulfilment.  And  the  glory  of  that  plan  consists  in 
this,  that  the  greatest  apparent  obstacle  was  made  the 
occasion  of  its  greatest  triumph ;  that  the  same  act 
which  made  it  consistent  for  God  to  be  gracious  to 
man,  made  it  impossible  for  man,  when  duly  ac- 
quainted, and  divinely  impressed  with  it,  to  resist 
its  attractive  and  subduing  power.  Around  that  plan 
the  purposes  of  mercy  had  from  eternity  revolved. 
Its  earliest  announcement  in  Eden,  though  only  con- 
veyed as  an  obscure  intimation,  touched  every  spring 
of  hope  in  human  nature,  and  left  an  ineffaceable 
moral  impression  on  the  mind  of  the  w^orld.  The 
mere  anticipation  of  that  coming  fact,  had  the  effect, 
for  ages,   wherever   it    was    duly  cherished,   of   trans- 


48  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

forming  human  hearts,  and  of  bearing  them  on  into 
the  presence  of  God.  And  when  at  length  the  time 
for  its  fulfihnent  came,  with  the  prospect  of  its  grand 
resuhs  swelling  and  bm^sting  his  heart  of  love  it  was, 
that  the  Saviour  uttered  the  subhme  prediction,  "Now 
shall  the  prince  of  this  world  be  cast  out;  and  I, 
if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men 
unto  me."  As  if  he  had  said,  "  The  central  power  of 
the  earth  is  a  demon.  I  look  for  his  throne,  and  find 
it  in  the  midst  of  the  world.  There,  where  should 
have  stood  the  throne  of  God,  stands  '  Satan's  seat ;' 
while  in  his  hand  are  all  the  influences  of  earth,  and 
at  his  feet  all  its  prostrate  homage.  But  there  shall 
stand  my  Cross.  Casting  him  out,  I  will  become  the 
centre  of  the  recovered  world.  Those  human  passions 
shall  burn  for  me.  Those  countless  idolaters  shall 
bow  to  me.  And  all  this  will  I  do,  not  by  force,  but 
by  influence  alone.  No  single  principle  of  human 
nature  will  I  violate.  Placing  myself  in  harmony  with 
them  all,  I  will  embody  every  element  of  influence, 
and  engage  every  holy  agency  in  the  universe.  All 
evil  influences  have  conspired ;  all  good  shall  combine 
to  oppose  them.  My  benevolence  can  find  employment 
for  all.  Man's  depravity  and  danger  require  them 
all.  None  shall  be  absent.  But,  chiefly,  thou.  Eternal 
Spirit,  my  object  requires  that  thou  shouldst  come  to 
conduct  and  to  give  efliciency  to  the  whole." 

Thus  the  Saviour  proposed  to  recover  that  principle 
of  mutual  dependence  and  influence  by  which  sin  was 
dragging  the  world  to  perdition,  and  to  employ  it  as  a 
golden  chain  for  drawing  all  men  to  himself. 

Now,  could  we  stay  to  analyze  the  elements  of  the 
character  and  work  of  Christ,  as  they  relate  to  ma?i, 
we  should  find  that  each  of  them  was  studiously  adapt- 
ed to  act  on  the  human  mind  as  an  element  of  influ- 
ence ;  and  the  more  minutely  we  could  examine  them, 
the  more  should  we  see  to  admire  in  their  exquisite 
adaptation  and  attractive  power.  Dignity  is  influence  ; 
and  he  demonstrated   to  our   conviction   that   he   was 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  49 

the  Son  of  God.  Identity  of  nature  is  influence ; 
and  he  became  "bone  of  our  bone,  and  flesh  of  our 
flesh."  Contiguity  is  influence;  and  he  came  and 
dwelt  amongst  us.  Relationship  is  influence ;  and  so 
far  from  dissolving  existing  relationships,  he  actually 
instituted  a  new  one ;  he  became  a  man !  Instead  of 
moving  away  farther  from  us,  as  our  guilt  deserved, 
he  came  nearer,  came  whh  all  the  fulness  of  the  God- 
head to  be  one  of  ourselves ;  came  to  demonstrate 
before  our  eyes,  how  much  a  God  can  love,  a  Saviour 
suffer,  a  Spirit  effect,  in  order  to  our  salvation.  Cha- 
racter is  influence ;  he  saw"  that  as  mind  rules  matter, 
character  rules  mind  itself,  draws  other  minds  into 
sympathy  with  it,  imparts  new  impulses  to  society, 
speaks  with  a  voice  heard  by  distant  nations,  and  which 
goes  down  to  future  ages.  He  saw,  therefore,  that 
when  his  character  should  come  to  be  truly  known ; — 
known  for  his  unconquerable  devotedness  to  the  cause 
of  God  and  man,  in  having  borne  down  by  a  course 
of  unexampled  self-denial  the  greatest  obstacles  in  the 
universe ;  made  his  way  from  heaven  through  the  ranks 
of  hell,  into  the  midst  of  the  world,  and  direct  to  a 
cross ; — known  for  his  self-sacrificing  benevolence,  in 
having  efl:ected  an  unbroken  descent  from  heights  of 
glory  no  wing  can  scale,  to  depths  of  humiliation  no  line 
can  fathom  ; — known  for  having  presented  to  a  world 
which  refused  to  live  unto  God,  the  amazing  spectacle  of 
a  God  living  to  it,  turning  his  whole  self  into  a  sacrifice, 
compared  with  which  nothing  else  would  ever  deserve 
the  name ; — known  for  the  richness  of  his  gifts,  and 
the  vastness  of  his  design,  as  including  the  happiness 
without  measure,  of  numbers  without  calculation,  and 
for  ages  without  end  ; — all  who  should  experimentally 
"know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  would  be 
penetrated  and  possessed  with  the  effect,  and  would 
compass  sea  and  land  to  propagate  the  report. 

He  knew  also  that  a  Divine   influence — the  influence 
of   the    Spirit  himself — would   accompany   and  give  it 
effect.     He  could  foresee,  indeed,  that  the  recipients 
5  * 


50  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

of  his  grace,  moved  by  the  Spirit  of  truth,  would 
throw  all  their  sanctified  human  influences  into  the 
work  of  preaching  it.  But  even  they  who  would  glory 
in  it  the  loudest,  and  labor  for  it  the  most,  would 
know  but  comparatively  little  of  its  excellence. 
Whereas  the  Infinite  Spirit  knows  it  perfectly ;  knows 
it  as  the  basis  of  his  own  agency  ;  knows  the  central 
place  which  the  cross  occupies,  as  the  means  of  atone- 
ment, in  the  councils  of  God,  the  influence  which  it 
exerts  on  every  part  of  the  Divine  government,  and 
the  glory  which  it  is  destined  to  shed  over  the  uni- 
verse ;  and  the  Saviour  saw,  therefore,  that  the  Spirit 
would  invest  it  wiih  a  power  over  the  human  mind 
corresponding  with  its  value  and  supreme  importance ; 
and  that  so  entirely  would  the  whole  economy  be 
conducted,  from  first  to  last,  by  his  agency,  that  it 
would  be  distinctly  known  as  the  dispensation  of  the 
Spirit. 

True,  indeed,  what  would  influence  the  human  mind 
was  not  the  only  thing,  was  not  the  first  thing  which 
the  Author  of  salvation  had  to  provide.  There  was 
another  mind  to  be  consulted.  There  was  the  First, 
the  Eternal  Mind  to  be  more  than  consulted,  to  be 
propitiated ;  for  man  had  dared  his  judicial  displeasure. 
Whatever  adaptation,  therefore,  the  gospel  might  seem 
to  possess,  it  can  contain  no  efi:ectual  remedy  for  man 
unless  it  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  that  Mind.  But 
to  find  that  even  He  approves  it ;  that  He  who  is 
himself  the  Infinite  Reason,  beholds  in  the  satisfac- 
tion for  sin  which  it  provides  a  reason  paramount  to 
all  law,  a  reason  to  which  even  justice  bows,  and  before 
which  it  retires ;  that  He  who  is  himself  absolute 
perfection  should  not  only  commend  it  as  perfect  in 
itself,  but  should  actually  employ  it  as  his  chosen 
instrument  for  restoring  perfection  to  beings  who  had 
lost  it ;  that  all  the  laws  of  his  moral  government 
consent  to  it,  and  all  the  principles  of  his  nature  rejoice 
in  it ;  is  of  itself  sufficient  to  arm  it  with  an  arresting 
and  attractive  power.     Now  the   Saviour  knew   this : 


OTATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  61 

he  knew  that  the  cross,  as  the  medium  of  forgiveness, 
is  the  direct  product  of  the  Divine  mind ;  that  all  the 
riches  of  the  Divine  nature  are  poured  into  it;  that 
nothing  in  the  treasury  of  the  Divine  resources  would 
be  deemed  too  costly  to  adorn  it,  in  order  to  commend 
it  to  the  world,  and  to  ensure  its  acceptance.  He 
could  not  doubt,  therefore,  that  the  cross  which  had 
moved  God  in  his  judicial  capacity,  will  finally  be 
made  to  move  the  world ;  that  as  it  is  the  centre 
around  which  the  purposes  of  mercy  revolve,  so  all 
the  affections  of  man  will  be  gathered  about  it  also ; 
that  the  very  fact  that  God  commends  it  would,  when 
known,  invest  it  with  an  unlimited  sway  over  every 
renovated  human  heart.  Yes,  he  had  looked  into  the 
mind  of  man,  and  he  saw  that  debased  and  embruted 
as  sin  had  made  us,  there  are  still  slumbering  within 
us  those  great  principles  and  powers  originally  meant  to 
control  our  nature,  and  that  he  who  should  succeed  in 
awakening  them  would  obtain  the  mastery  over  the 
whole  man.  He  saw  that  by  suffering  he  should 
awaken  its  sympathies ;  that  by  suffering  for  us  he 
should  engage  its  gratitude ;  that  by  suffering  for  sin, 
which  he  hated, — ''bearing  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on 
the  tree," — he  should  be  the  means  of  awakening  its 
astonishment  and  love;  that  by  thus  giving  to  it  "a 
good  hope,"  he  should  be  moving  the  very  first  prin- 
ciple of  moral  power. 

He  was  the  maker  of  the  mind,  and  knew  all  hs 
mysterious  laws  and  secret  springs.  That  singular 
law  which  we  call  the  principle  of  association,  and 
which  is  to  mind,  in  effect,  what  the  law  of  attraction 
is  to  matter ;  drawing  together  ideas  connected  by 
common  afhnhies,  and  repelling  others  having  no  such 
congeniality,  was  a  law  of  his  own  appointment.  And 
he  saw  how  exquisitely  the  doctrine  of  the  cross  was 
adapted,  resuking,  as  it  does,  from  the  first  principles 
in  the  Divine  nature,  to  touch  and  move  the  first 
principles  in  ours,  and  thus  to  become,  through  the 
agency  of  the  Holy   Spirit,  a  new  principle  of  mental 


52  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

and  moral  association.  But  he  knew  that  besides  this, 
the  human  mind  was  constituted  for  the  reception  and 
enthronement  of  one  central  and  ruling  idea,  the  idea 
of  God ;  that  that  idea  in  its  purity  and  vigour  has 
been  lost  from  the  mind ;  that  in  the  absence  of  this 
primary  principle,  the  mind  is  involved  in  moral  con- 
fusion, and  the  passions  perverted  by  an  unhcensed 
association  of  ideas ;  and  he  saw  that  the  cross,  em- 
bodying, as  it  does,  the  essential  compassion  and  love 
of  God,  was  divinely  calculated  to  restore  order  by 
obtaining  ascendency,  and  to  become  the  all-subordi- 
nating principle  of  the  enlightened  mind.  Though 
we  may  not  be  able  by  an  effort  of  our  will  to  call 
up  any  one  train  of  thought,  we  can,  by  the  power 
of  the  will,  select  at  pleasure  any  single  thought  in 
the  succession,  and  dwell  upon  it  with  deep  and  pro- 
longed attention  ;  and  he  saw  how  eminently  the  cross 
is  calculated  to  be  that  object ;  to  rivet  the  attention, 
and  engross  the  affections  of  the  renewed  mind. 

He  saw  that  as  every  truth,  intellectual,  moral,  and 
spiritual,  is  invested  by  the  God  of  truth  with  an 
influence  and  a  power  corresponding  with  its  peculiar 
nature  and  its  importance ;  and  that  as  spiritual  truths 
are  above  and  beyond  all  others,  as  relating  to  the 
spiritual  and  loftiest  part  of  our  nature ;  so  the  great 
truth  of  the  world's  redemption — the  very  greatest 
for  a  sinful  and  ruined  spirit — would  only  need  to  be 
proclaimed  and  put  into  Divine  activity — to  be  brought 
by  the  Great  Spirit  into  vital  contact  and  combination 
with  the  heart  of  the  world,  in  order  to  draw  it  with 
irresistible  attraction  to  the  Author  of  that  truth. 
Mighty  truths  were  extant  before — truths  which  created 
other  truths — which,  wherever  they  were  announced, 
quickened  into  activity  the  general  mind,  called  forth 
the  mental  resources  of  a  people,  and  went  vibrating  on 
through  the  universe.  But  a  truth  was  wanting,  fitted 
to  receive  the  great  power  of  God — to  be  "the  power 
of  God  unto  the  salvation"  of  all  who  should  believe 
it — a  truth  which  should  animate  all  other  truths — shed 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  53 

a  flood  of  light  and  a  stimulating  influence  on  original 
but  neglected  obligations,  and  thus  be  the  means  of 
renovating  the  world.  And  the  Saviour  knew  that  his 
atoning  sacrifice  was  that  great  conservative  truth. 
He  knew  that  as  no  act  terminates  in  itself,  but  tends 
to  propogate  an  influence  in  obedience  to  its  own  laws, 
and  commensurate  with  its  own  force — the  event  of  his 
death  for  man's  redemption — the  greatest  of  all  acts — 
greater  than  creation — greater  than  any  which  God 
has  yet  accomphshed — would  necessarily  carry  with  it 
an  influence  greater  than  the  influence  flowing  from 
any  preceding  acts,  and  therefore  calculated,  under  the 
dispensation  of  the  Spirit,  to  master  and  control  the 
whole. 

He  saw  that  as  no  object  in  the  universe  exists 
alone — that  as  every  thing  is  the  centre  o'f  an  influence 
which  extends  to  all  within  its  circle — so  the  Cross, 
including  as  it  would  the  means  of  exciting  that  love 
which  is  the  very  principle  of  all  holy  activity — com- 
plicated as  it  was  with  all  the  interests  of  humanity, 
would  become  the  centre  of  an  influence,  to  which  all 
other  impulses  would  eventually  yield  obedience,  and 
a  centre  of  attraction  around  which  all  other  objects 
would  finally  circulate — that  the  Cross  of  Calvary  would 
become  the  polar  pov.^er  of  the  spiritual  world,  to 
which  every  heart  would  tremble  and  turn. 

He  saw  in  the  earnest  expectation  of  the  creature 
waiting  for  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God, 
struggling  to  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  cor- 
ruption into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of 
God,  joined  with  the  Divine  adaptation  of  the  Gospel 
to  make  that  manifestation,  and  to  effect  that  deliver- 
ance, a  certain  pledge  of  universal  triumph.  "For 
we  know  that  the  whole  creation  groaneth  and  tra- 
vaileth  in  pain  together  until  now."  But  with  how 
much  deeper  an  emphasis  may  it  be  said  that  He 
knows  it  ^  To  his  omniscient  eye  the  whole  race  was 
present.  He  marked  the  multitudes  struggling  against 
their   fallen    condition — carrying   their   desires    beyond 

5* 


54  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

the  limits  of  the  present — yearning  after  a  something 
undefined.  Yes,  he  knew  that  his  Gospel  is  the  hope 
of  mankind — that  every  sigh  and  struggle  of  the  whole 
creation  is  an  act  of  homage  to  the  salvation  he  brought, 
and  a  guarantee  that  all  men  shall  eventually  be  drawn 
to  him.  And  beyond  this ;  he  knew  that  so  dehghted 
was  the  Father  with  his  w^ork  of  mediation,  that  this 
redeemed  world  w^ould  be  made  his  property,  that  the 
hearts  of  his  people  would  be  his  at  will,  and  all  their 
influences  his  to  w^ield  at  pleasure.  He  knew  that 
"  for  this  cause  he  was  to  die,  and  rise,  and  revive,  that 
he  might  be  Lord  of  the  whole."  And  when,  by  anti- 
cipation he  heard  them  saying,  "None  of  us  liveth  to 
himself;  we  are  not  our  own  ;  for  us  to  live  is  Christ :" 
when,  looking  onwards,  he  saw  the  Cross,  in  the  hand 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  attracting  human  hearts,  combining 
human  energies,  turning  every  thing  into  influence,  and  all 
that  influence  into  one  channel ;  he  exclaimed,  "  And  I,  if 
I  be  hfted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me." 
For  "the  joy  which  was  thus  set  before  him,"  He — 
the  Son  of  God — "endured  the  cross,"  as  the  sacrifice 
for  the  w^orld.  Into  that  act,  were  put  the  heart  of 
Christ,  the  love  of  God — and  through  it  comes  the 
mightiest  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  That  Cross  is 
the  shrine  and  medium  of  the  whole.  By  becoming 
the  instrument  of  human  redemption,  it  acquires  the 
right  and  the  power  to  give  motives  to  all  actions, 
sanctions  to  all  obligations,  objects  to  all  affections, 
a  new  nature  to  man,  a  new^  character  to  the  world. 

IV.  Here  then  is  the  Cross — here  are  the  means  for 
moving  the  world  ;  where  is  the  agency  or  what  is  the 
plan,  for  working  the  mighty  engine  ?  The  Eternal 
Father  has  been  moved  by  it  to  lift  its  author  up  far 
above  all  heavens — what  is  the  mode  by  which,  now, 
in  his  new  and  exalted  capacity,  he  will  draw  the  world 
in  homage  to  his  feet  ?  So  powerfully  does  its  in- 
fluence fall  on  the  mind  of  God,  as  the  means  of  moral 
compensation  for  sin,  that  he  hath  given  all  things  into 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  55 

his  hands — how  is  it  to  fall  on  the  minds  of  men  so 
as  to  induce  them  voluntarily  to  copy  that  divine  ex- 
ample ?  This  is  obviously  the  critical  part  of  the  great 
process.  Oh,  how  important  a  theatre  has  earth  be- 
come !  Every  eye  in  the  universe  is  bent  on  it.  Here 
is  to  be  fought  out  the  grand  struggle  of  evil  with 
good — of  hell  with  heaven.  Here. the  influence  of  the 
Cross  is  to  challenge  and  vanquish  every  other  power ; 
who  is  not  anxious  to  know  the  plan  of  the  contest  ? 

This  brings  us  to  consider  the  scripture  theory  of 
Christian  instrumentality  for  the  conversion  of  the 
world.  The  early  triumphs  of  the  Gospel  demon- 
strated that  the  influence  of  the  Cross  was  not  left  to 
find  its  way  through  the  world  as  it  could — to  operate 
at  random.  The  plan  which  provided  the  influence  of 
the  Cross,  provided  also  the  method  of  its  difiiision 
and  propagation.  And,  on  inspection,  we  shall  find 
that  plan  so  simple  in  its  principle — so  connected  in 
its  parts — so  comprehensive  in  its  outline — and  so  well 
adapted  for  efiiciency  and  success,  as  to  show  that  the 
wisdom  which  framed  it  was  divine  ;  and  that  nothing 
but  adherence  to  it  is  wanting  in  order  to  the  conver- 
sion of  the  world. 

We  have  already  shown,  that,  by  the  constitution 
of  our  nature,  we  are  made  to  influence  each  other ; 
that  the  perversion  of  that  influence  by  sin,  is  the  great 
secret  and  means  of  the  "world's  continued  depravity; 
that,  through  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Cross  is  the  antagonist  principle,  the 
counter  influence,  by  which  sin  is  to  be  vanquished 
and  man  restored.  We  may  expect,  therefore,  that  the 
instrumentality  to  be  employed  in  the  service  of  the 
Cross,  will  consist  of  influence  also.  And,  accordingly, 
human  influence,  deriving  its  eflicacy  from  heaven,  is 
the  specific  instrumentality  by  which  the  Gospel  pro- 
poses to  propagate  its  transforming  effects. 

But  if  so,  it  follows,  of  course,  that  such  influence 
should  be  congenial  with  the  character — the  moral  cha- 
racter— of  the  Cross,  and  be  produced  by  it.     For  this 


56  CHKISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

sufficient  reason,  that  every  other  influence  is,  in  truth, 
opposed  to  the  Gospel,  and  constitutes  that  which  re- 
quires to  be  changed  by  it.  The  Cross  stands  alone 
in  the  world.  It  does  not  find  friends,  it  makes  them. 
If  it  wants  an  agency,  it  has  to  create  it.  If  the  iron 
is  to  attract,  it  must  itself  be  magnetized.  And  if 
the  Saviour  proposes  to  employ  human  instrumentality 
for  drawing  all  men  unto  him,  he  has  first  to  magnetize 
that  agency  at  the  Cross,  the  great  centre  of  moral 
attraction. 

1.  But  how  shall  the  Gospel  commence  its  operations 
on  man — individually ,  or  socially  ?  Civilization  com- 
monly begins  with  man  in  his  social  capacity,  by  giving 
law^s  to  a  community ;  expecting  that  they  will  gra- 
dually impart  their  appropriate  influence  to  each  of  its 
individual  members.  But  Christianity  contemplates 
man,  in  the  first  place,  in  his  individual  capacity.  For, 
i)esides  the  fact  of  his  personal  responsibility  to  God, 
his  reception  of  it,  as  far  as  human  authority  is  con- 
cerned, is  perfectly  voluntary.  The  Gospel,  therefore, 
proceeds  on  the  supposition  that  only  a  single  member 
of  a  whole  community  may  embrace  it ;  and  by  ad- 
dressing men  at  first  in  their  individual  capacity,  it 
saves  that  single  member ;  whereas,  had  his  salvation 
been  suspended  on  the  will  of  the  community,  it  would 
have  been  made  impossible,  owing  to  their  rejection  of 
the  Gospel.  Besides  which,' Christianity  proceeds  on 
the  supposition  so  often  realized,  that  it  may  only  have 
a  solitary  agent  to  convey  its  message  to  a  whole  com- 
munity ;  and  that  in  tiie  midst  of  that  community  he 
may  long  labour  single-handed  and  alone.  It  begins 
whh  the  individual,  therefore,  that  it  may  advance  to 
the  society.  In  order  to  the  cohesion  and  polarity  of 
the  globe,  every  atom  of  which  it  is  composed  is,  in 
its  separate  capacity,  possessed  of  polarity  and  attrac- 
tion. And  in  order  to  the  ultimate  evangelization  of 
the  world,  the  Gospel  operates,  as  it  advances,  on  each 
of  its  component  parts. 
^  And,  here,  be  it  carefully  remarked,   that  the  doc- 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  57 

trine  of  the  Cross  triumphs,  not  in  the  same  way  as 
other  kinds  of  truth  produce  their  resuhs — by  its  mere 
fitness  to  convince  the  judgment,  and  approve  itself  to 
the  mind.  We  beh'eve,  indeed,  that  the  Gospel  has 
this  fitness ;  that  light  is  not  more  suited  to  the  eye, 
than  the  entire  system  of  evangelical  truth  is  adapted 
to  the  original  principles  of  human  nature.  And  we 
believe  that,  owing  to  this  inherent  adaptation  alone, 
the  Gospel  can  produce  the  mightiest  civil  and  social 
results,  without  the  aid  of  any  special  supernatural 
influence.  And  we  believe  that,  because  of  this  in- 
herent adaptation,  it  is  that  God  employs  it  to  produce 
the  great  spiritual  result  of  regeneration.  But,  then, 
we  beheve  that  in  the  production  of  this  result,  i|s 
mere  adaptation  alone  would  leave  it  quite  impotent; 
that  here  it  encounters  a  kind  and  a  degree  of  resist- 
ance which  renders  a  Divine  Agency  indispensable  ; 
that  here  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  comes  into  opera- 
tion;  and  that  on  this  account  it  is  called  "the  power 
of  God,"  because  God  alone  renders  it  powerful  to 
salvation.  Hence,  also,  "faith"  is  termed  "the  gift 
of  God."  And  God  is  represented  as  "  opening  the 
heart  to  receive  the  word."  Still,  the  Spirit  of  God 
is  pleased  to  produce  the  eflect  through  the  medium  of 
the  truth ;  and  hence  the  Apostle  Peter  represents 
Christians  as  those  who  "have  purified  their  souls  in 
obeying  the  truth  through  the  Spirit."  Most  impres- 
sively, too,  is  the  same  combination  implied  in  the 
command  of  Christ  "to  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  ; " 
ahhough  he  himself  was  the  speaker.  Reminding  us 
that  this  is  emphatically  the  dispensation  of  the  Third 
Person  in  the  Glorious  Trinity ;  that  every  voice  in 
the  church — even  the  voice  of  Christ  himself — is  in  a 
sense  subordinate  to  the  Spirit,  and  can  be  heard  with 
salutary  eflect  only  as  the  Spirit  repeats  it,  and  conveys 
it  into  the  soul. 

Now,  in  attempting  to  describe  its  transforming 
power  on  the  human  heart,  it  is  somewhat  disheart- 
ening to    reflect   that   we    are   most   likely   addressing 


58  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

those  to  whom  the  subject  has  become  comparatively 
trite,  and  almost  every  mode  of  presenting  it,  perfectly 
familiar.  The  very  facility  with  which  the  under- 
standing apprehends  our  meaning,  and  the  readiness 
with  which  the  judgment  admits  it,  allows  no  time  for 
the  sublime  truth  to  settle  down  upon  the  heart.  In 
order,  therefore,  to  do  anything  like  justice  to  the 
subject,  it  is  necessary  that  the  individual  supposed  to 
be  subjected  to  the  influence  in  question  should  be 
taken,  not  from  among  ourselves,  but  from  a  region 
where  the  power  and  even  the  name  of  the  Gospel  is 
unknown.  Christianity  is  the  only  successful  anta- 
gonist which  sin  has  ever  encountered  ',  in  order,  there- 
fore, to  exhibit  its  influence  fully,  he  should  be  taken 
from  the  darkness  and  distance  of  nature,  where  sin 
had  operated  on  him  unchecked,  working  out  all  its 
deadly  effects,  and  reducing  him  to  its  dreadful  pur- 
poses ;  and  he  should  be  brought  with  all  his  depravity 
and  guilt  upon  him  into  the  full  light,  and  under  the 
direct  power,  of  the  Gospel. 

Now  in  this  stale,  he  is  chiefly  assailable  at  three 
points.  Fortified  in  evil,  as  he  may  appear  to  be, 
there  are  yet  three  sides,  so  to  speak,  on  which  he 
may  be  approached,  by  the  Spirit  of  truth,  with  irre- 
sistible effect — his  immortality,  his  guilt,  and  his  in- 
finite danger.  These  are  subjects  relating  to  parts  and 
principles  of  his  nature  which  an  abandoned  world 
overlooks — it  has  little  or  nothing  by  which  it  can 
appeal  to  them  if  it  would — and  yet  they  lie  at  the 
very  foundation  of  his  constitution,  so  that  whoever 
shall  succeed  in  making  him  sensible  of  his  immor- 
tality, in  alarm.ing  his  conscience  to  the  danger  to 
which  all  that  immortality  is  exposed  by  sin,  and  then 
in  delivering  him  from  the  whole,  will  necessarily  ac- 
quire a  master  influence  over  his  whole  nature  forever. 
Now  the  Gospel  does  tliis.  It  does  not  affect  a  part 
of  his  nature  merely.  It  does  not  operate  superficially 
on  the  senses  ;  nor  convince  his  judgment,  and  leave 
his  heart  uninterested ;  nor  move  his  passions  merely, 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  59 

to  the  neglect  of  his  judgment  and  his  will.  It  goes 
in,  and  down,  to  the  depths  of  his  nature.  It  goes 
directly  to  move  that  which  moves  the  whole  man. 

The  world  hides  a  man  from  himself — conceals  from 
him  the  most  important  part  of  his  nature.  By  shut- 
ting out  the  prospect  of  eternity,  he  loses  sight  of  his 
immortality  ;  and  by  constantly  appealing  to  his  senses, 
and  thus  keeping  in  exercise  only  the  inferior  parts  of 
his  nature,  he  tends  to  settle  down  into  a  mere  creature 
of  time.  But  the  first  effect,  perhaps,  which  the  Gospel 
produces  is  to  reveal  him  to  himself.  By  coming  to 
him  as  a  message  from  another  world,  he  starts  into  a 
consciousness  of  his  relation  to  that  world — and  by 
addressing  itself  to  the  spiritual  part  of  his  nature,  he 
becomes  sensible,  however  vaguely  at  first,  that  he  is 
in  some  way  related  to  the  spiritual,  the  infinite,  and 
the  eternal.  Now  it  is  obvious,  how  this  very  first 
impression,  by  throwing  open  a  part  of  the  temple  of 
his  nature  which  had  been  hitherto  shut  up — the  very 
sanctuary,  containing  the  symbol  of  divinity — prepares 
him  to  receive  with  deep  effect,  every  other  commu- 
nication which  may  come  to  him  from  the  same 
quarter. 

Not  only  does  the  world  conceal  from  a  man  his 
spiritual  and  immortal  nature — by  allowing  it  to  fall 
into  disuse,  it  tends  also  to  merge  the  fact  of  his  in- 
dividual  accountableness — -his  di&tinr.t  personal  respon- 
sibility. From  hving  in  society,  and  finding  his  in- 
terests and  relations  inseperably  complicated  with  those 
of  others,  he  comes  to  think  of  himself  only  as  an  un- 
distinguishable  part  of  a  great  whole.  He  loses  himself 
in  the  crowd.  But  the  Gospel  individualizes  and 
detaches.  It  tells  him  of  a  law  by  which  all  the  laws 
of  society  are  themselves  to  be  judged,  but  of  which 
his  life  has  been  an  unbroken  violation — of  a  book  in 
which  his  personal  history  is  recorded  moment  by 
moment — of  a  Being  who  can  disentangle  and  detach 
him  from  all  his  complicated  relations,  and  assign  to 
his  every  thought  and  word  its  precise  character — and 


60  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUIMENTALITY 

of  a  place  and  a  punishment  so  exactly  and  necessarily 
resulting  from  his  guilt  and  proportioned  to  it,  that  he 
is  the  only  being  in  the  universe  to  whom  they  could 
be  assigned.  The  only  way,  therefore,  in  which  it 
can  treat  with  him  is  in  person.  It  lays  its  awakening 
and  arresting  hand  on  his  personal  conscience.  It  de- 
mands a  personal  interview — a  conference  in  the  centre 
of  his  nature.  It  brings  forward  his  guilt  into  the 
strong  light  of  distinct  consciousness.  Even  if  the 
Gospel  allow^ed  him  to  act  by  another,  his  own  con- 
science is  now  too  deeply  interested  to  permit  it.  All 
his  faculties  and  powers  seem  collected  into  a  point — 
the  entire  soul  becomes  conscience,  and  that  con- 
science is  against  him — accuser,  witness,  and  judge. 
As  if  the  judgment  had  been  set  and  the  books 
opened,  as  if  his  personal  case  had  been  adjudged, 
his  doom  pronounced,  and  he  himself  suspended  over 
the  bottomless  gulf,  he  feels  that  he  is  lost.  His 
nature  is  now  stirred  to  its  depths,  and  his  soul  is  one 
region  of  alarm.  Mere  sympathy  now  will  receive  his 
deep,  deep  gratitude ;  deliv^rmice  would  secure  his 
heart  for  ever.  The  Being  who  shall  now  arrive  to 
his  rescue,  will  infallibly  acquire  an  influence  over  the 
whole  man,  and  may  calculate  on  his  allegiance  for  ever. 

To  ask. if  the  world,  or  any  person  or  power  belong- 
ing to  it,  can  extend  the  aid  which  the  crisis  demands, 
would  be  sheer  impertinence.  That  is  the  very  power 
which  has  brought  on  the  crisis,  and  from  which  he 
requires  to  be  rescued.  So  completely  is  he  now  de- 
tached from  it  in  heart  and  hope,  that  he  turns  round 
and  looks  back  on  it,  w^ith  wonder  at  its  infatuation, 
aversion  for  its  sins,  and  yearning  pity  for  its  state. 
The  cloud  which  threatens  him  with  its  bolt,  impends 
also  over  it.     What  must  he  ''do  to  be  saved  .^" 

In  the  absence  of  all  the  objects  he  has  been  accus- 
tomed to  confide  in  ;  in  the  clear  and  open  space  which 
their  wuhdraw^Tient  has  left  around  him,  behold  the 
Cross  !  All  the  forms  of  terror,  and  ministers  of  justice 
which  his  sins  had  armed  against  him,   blend  and  melt 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  61 

into  a  form  of  love  dying  for  his  rescue.  The  Cross 
has  received  ihe  lightnings  of  the  impending  cloud, 
and  has  painted  upon  it  the  bow  of  hope.  To  his 
anxious  inquiry,  ''What  he  must  do  to  be  saved?" 
The  Cross  echoes  back,  be  saved^  and  every  object 
around  him  joyfully  repeats,  be  saved.  Then  God  is 
love !  and  the  Cross  is  the  stupendous  expedient  by 
which  he  harmonizes  that  love  with  the  rectitude  of  his 
government !  Then  the  sinner  need  not  perish  !  and 
this  is  the  amazing  means  of  his  salvation  !  Had  it 
ever  been  his  lot  to  gaze  on  the  appalling  spectacle  of 
an  ordinary  crucifixion,  the  sight  would  probably  have 
left  an  image  on  his  mind  never  to  be  effaced.  Is  it 
possible,  then,  that  he  can  behold  "Jesus  Christ,  evi- 
dently set  forth  crucified  before  his  eyes ;"  that  he  can 
know  the  dignity  of  the  sufferer,  as  God  manifest  in 
the  flesh ;  can  believe  that  he  hates  the  sin  as  deeply 
as  he  loves  the  sinner ;  can  reflect  that  the  effect  of 
his  death  is  to  be  his  own  deliverance ;  and  can  look 
into  the  heart  of  this  great  mystery  and  find  it  to 
be  love,  without  experiencing  a  change  ?  If  every 
word  which  he  hears  spoken  even  by  a  fellow  man, 
leaves  some  impression  on  his  mind,  can  he  hear  that 
he  is  saved,  and  believe  that  the  voice  which  assures 
him  of  salvation  is  the  voice  of  God,  without  feeling 
it  thrill  through  every  faculty  of  the  soul  ?  If  every 
object  and  event  he  may  witness,  produces  some  efl^ect 
on  his  character — is  it  possible  that  the  event  which 
is  to  affect  his  whole  being  for  ever — which  for  him 
shuts  for  ever  the  gate  of  hell,  and  throws  open  and 
fills  with  visions  of  glory  the  ample  spaces  of  eternity, 
should  produce  only  a  transient  and  slender  impression  .'' 
Must  he  not,  by  necessity  of  nature,  love  him,  without 
whom  he  would  soon  have  had  nothing  in  the  universe 
to  love,  but  have  been  eternally  hateful  even  to  him- 
self ?  Must  he  not  render  obedience  to  him,  without 
whom  the  chains  of  his  slavery  would  soon  have  been 
riveted  for  ever  ?  He  waits  not  for  a  reply  ;  he  needs 
not  a  command.  He  is  under  the  mastery  of  a  prin- 
6 


62  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

ciple  which  is  its  own  law — a  principle  of  boundless 
gratitude  and  love.  The  power  of  the  Cross  has  moved 
the  primary  forces  of  his  nature — the  mysterious  springs 
of  Hope  and  Fear,  of  Adoration  and  Love.  The  world 
has  lost  him.  His  heart  is  at  the  feet  of  Christ.  He 
dates  hfe  and  happiness  from  the  transition.  Hence- 
forth he  moves  in  a  region  of  which  the  Cross  is  the 
central  object,  and  where  the  benignant  and  attractive 
influences  which  stream  from  it  in  all  directions,  hold 
him  in  willing  and  delighted  allegiance. 

Here,  then,  is  the  secret  of  that  supreme  influence 
which  the  Gospel  exercises  over  the  man  whom  the 
world  had  debased  and  sin  had  ruined  ;  and  this  is  the 
line  of  truth  along  which  the  Spirit  of  God  delights 
to  operate.  By  acquainting  him  with  his  immortality, 
it,  in  effect,  gives  him  a  soul,  and  gives  it  on  the 
threshold  of  a  new  and  eternal  world.  By  acquaint- 
ing him  with  his  responsibility  and  guilt,  it  calls  his 
conscience  from  the  dead ;  and  by  unveiling  to  him  the 
mystery  of  the  Cross,  by  which  that  guilt  is  cancelled, 
and  that  immortality  entitled  to  heaven,  one  over- 
powering sentiment  subjects  his  whole  nature  to  the 
authority  of  Christ.  The  Spirit  has  taken  oi*  the  things  of 
Christ,  and  has  shown  them  to  him  with  so  transforming 
an  eftect,  that  he  is  "a  new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus." 

We  are  to  suppose,  then,  that  the  Gospel  has,  in 
this  way,  won  its  first  convert ;  that  the  transform- 
ing effects  which  the  Saviour  ascribed  to  his  being 
lifted  up  from  the  earth,  have  taken  place  upon  him. 
Here  is  a  man  imbued  with  the  siprit  of  the  Cross, 
and  ready  to  sacrifice  life  in  its  service — how  is  he  to 
be  employed  ?  He  is  not  to  live  to  himself ;  for  by 
the  sentence  of  a  law  which  has  gone  forth  from  the 
Cross,  he  who  lives  to  himself  is  not  a  Christian.  He 
has  not  been  "created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus"  for  mere 
self-enjoyment  or  idle  show — that  the  act  might  ter- 
minate in  itself.  Every  thing  in  nature  exists  for  a 
purpose.  Even  the  atom  of  the  rock  has  its  appointed 
place,  and  its  definite  end.      Surely  man — and,  of  all 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  63 

men,    the    Christian — is   not   exempt   from    this  law ! 
what  then,  is  his  destiny  ? 

Here  is  evidently  a  fitting  agent  for  Christ  to  employ. 
No  other  being  in  the  universe  has  the  shadow  of  a 
claim  to  him,  beyond  that  which  his  new  proprietor 
may  choose  to  grant.  Every  part  and  property  of  his 
nature,  and  every  moment  of  his  future  existence,  have 
been  bought — paid  for  with  "precious  blood."  And 
as  the  new  interest  to  which  he  is  pledged  is  opposed 
by  every  other,  he  cannot  yield  to  any  other  claimant, 
even  for  a  moment,  without  lending  himself,  during 
that  moment,  to  a  hostile  party ;  so  that  he  has  no 
alternative  but  that  of  devoting  himself  unreservedly 
to  Christ.  Accordingly,  the  Saviour  claims  him  for 
himself.  From  the  moment  he  felt  the  power  of  the 
Cross,  his  duty  became  definite,  imperitive,  one.  If 
every  other  member  of  the  human  family  were  aban- 
doned to  live  without  control — if  the  sun  itself  were 
abandoned  to  wander  through  infinite  space — his  course 
would  yet  be  minutely  prescribed.  As  if  he  alone  held 
the  great  secret  of  the  Cross,  and  were  consequently 
the  most  important  being  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  his 
every  moment  is  charged  with  an  appointed  duty.  As 
if  he  had  been  recalled  from  the  state  of  death ;  yes, 
not  merely  as  if  he  had  been  called  out  of  nothingness 
into  existence — not  merely  as  if  he  had  been  selected 
and  sent  down  from  the  ranks  of  the  blessed  above — 
but  with  stronger  motives  still,  as  if  his  guilty  soul 
had  been  recalled  from  perdition  where  the  undying 
worm  had  found  him,  and  the  unquenchable  flame  had 
enwrapped  him,  and  his  dissolved  body  recalled  from 
the  dust  of  death — and  as  if  he  had  literally  come 
out  of  the  tomb  with  Christ,  and  had  received  life  and 
salvation  together  at  the  mouth  of  the  sepulchre,  at 
the  hand  of  Christ — all  his  new-found  powers  are  to  be 
held  by  him  as  a  precious  trust  for  the  service  of  Christ. 
As  if  he  had  come  forth  from  the  sepulchre  at  first 
with  life  only — and  as  if  his  reason,  knowledge,  affec- 
tions, speech,  property,  had  there  been  restored  to  him 


64  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

separately,  and  in  succession,  with  a  distinct  intimation 
accompanying  each,  that  he  received  it  back  for  Christ, 
he  is  to  look  on  himself,  henceforth,  as  a  part  of  the 
Cross,  as  taken  up  into  the  great  designs  of  Christ — 
as  bound  up  for  life  and  death  in  his  plans  of  mercy. 
His  character  is  to  be  a  reproduction  of  the  character  of 
Christ.  The  disinterestedness  which  appeared  in  Christ, 
is  to  reappear  in  him.  The  tenderness  of  Christ — his 
untold  solicitude  for  human  souls,  is  to  live  over  again 
in  his  tones  of  entreaty,  his  wresding  prayer  for  their 
salvation.  The  blood  of  the  Cross  itself,  is,  in  a  sense 
to  stream  forth  again,  in  his  tears  of  anguish,  his  volun- 
tary and  vicarious  self-sacrifice  to  draw  men  to  Christ. 
And  if  tempted  to  lend  but  a  particle  of  his  influence 
to  any  other  claimant  than  Christ,  his  reply  is  at  hand, 
"I  am  not  my  own,  I  am  Christ's.  He  has  put  it  out 
of  my  power  to  give  him  more  than  belongs  to  him, 
for  he  has  purchased  and  challenges  the  whole  through 
every  moment  of  time ;  and  out  of  my  will  to  give  hira 
less,  for  if  1  know  any  grief  it  is  that  my  all  should 
so  inadequately  express  my  sense  of  obligation." 

2.  Now  all  this  necessarily  invests  the  new  convert 
with  influence ;  and  with  influence  of  the  same  kind 
as  that  which  instrumentally  drew  him  to  Christ — 
influence  already  felt,  perhaps,  in  inferior  degrees  by 
many  around  him ;  and  accordingly,  we  are  to  suppose 
that,  under  God,  he  becomes  the  means  of  drawing 
some  of  these  to  Christ.  Now  as  union  is  strength, 
would  it  not  be  desirable  that  he  and  they  should  be 
organized  into  a  society  for  the  purpose  of  combining 
and  diffusing  their  influence  farther  still  ?  Here,  then, 
is  the  next  step  in  the  theory  of  Christian  influence — 
the  formation  of  individual  Christians  into  a  Church. 
The  primary  design  of  a  Church,  indeed,  is  the  spiritual 
benefit  of  the  members  composing  it ;  that  each  might 
enjoy  the  assistance  of  all ;  that  the  Christian  prin- 
ciples and  graces  of  the  whole  community  might  be 
collected  and  concentrated  into  a  focus,  and  each  be- 
liever might  stand  at  pleasure  under  its  salutary  and 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  65 

transforming  influence  ;  that  scope  might  be  afforded 
for  the  exercise  of  sympathy,  and  forbearance,  and  holy 
emulation ;  that  each  might  feel  his  weakness  sup- 
ported, and  his  courage  animated,  by  the  presence  of 
the  whole — feel,  that  although  he  is  "the  least  of  all 
saints,"  he  is  a  vital  member  of  an  organized  body, 
allied  to  Christ,  the  living  Head,  and,  through  Him, 
identified  with  all  the  excellence  in  the  universe. 

But  the  great  uherior  object  of  forming  them  into 
a  Church,  is  the  increase  of  their  usefuhiess  to  the 
world ;  and  hence  it  is  that  every  increase  of  their  own 
prosperity  is  so  much  increase  of  their  capacity  for 
usefulness.  In  other  words,  in  the  formation  and 
design  of  this  church,  w'e  behold  that  principle  of 
mutual  dependence  and  reciprocal  influence,  which  sin 
had  perverted  into  the  means  of  the  world's  destruction, 
recovering  its  original  value  as  the  means  of  the  world's 
regeneration;  for  here,  "the  communion  of  the  saints," 
by  heightening  their  piety,  quickening  their  activity, 
and  combining  their  resources,  increases  their  fitness 
for  the  world's  conversion. 

As  a  Church,  the  mere  circumstance  of  their  separa- 
tion from  the  world,  is,  of  itself,  sufficient  to  attract 
attention.  Their  number  invests  them  with  com- 
parative importance.  Their  formation  into  a  visible 
society,  raises  them  into  the  rank  of  a  distinct  power. 
If  we  wish  to  render  an  object  conspicuous,  we  detach 
it  from  surrounding  objects,  and  place  it  apart;  and 
if  we  wish  to  make  it  still  more  conspicuous,  we  in- 
crease it,  multiply  it  to  the  utmost.  The  light  of  the 
sun  is  composed  of  particles  inconceivably  minute, 
which,  taken  separately,  and  placed  at  a  distance  from 
each  other,  would  be  lost  in  darkness ;  but  collected 
into  that  glorious  orb,  it  attracts  the  eyes  of  ten  thou- 
sand worlds,  and  becomes  an  image  of  the  glory  of  God 
himself.  Believers  are  to  shine  as  lights  in  the  world; 
but  this  end  they  answer  best,  when  their  radiance  is 
collected  into  the  orb  of  a  Christian  Church. 

As  a   Church,    they    are   raised   into   an  independ- 
6* 


QO  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

ence  of  the  world ;  and  thus  furnish  mankind  with 
a  standing  representation  of  another  world  ;  of  other 
laws  than  earth  obeys ;  and  of  a  higher  order  of  enjoy- 
ment and  power  than  man  possesses,  derived  from  a 
source  superior  to  all  created  means.  Its  union  to 
him,  and  oneness  with  him,  make  it  independent  of  all 
the  universe  besides. 

As  a  Church,  they  are  to  acquire  and  wield  an 
influence  of  a  character  essentially  distinct  from  that 
of  all  around,  and  incomparably  superior  to  it.  What- 
ever the  moral  state  of  the  world  may  be,  their 
fitness  to  improve  it  will  depend,  under  God,  on  the 
breadth  and  distinctness  of  the  line  of  demarcation 
which  separates  them  from  it,  and  on  the  perfection 
of  contrast  to  the  world  which  they  exhibit.  The 
world,  for  instance,  is  selfish,  acts  without  refer- 
ence to  a  Supreme  will,  and  constitutes  itself  the  end 
of  all  it  does.  How  important,  then,  that  they  should 
embody  the  self-sacrificing  spirit  of  Christ !  To  do  this 
by  halves  only,  to  study  their  own  aggrandizement,  or 
to  live  in  comparative  indolence  and  luxury,  would  be 
to  symbolize  with  the  world,  and  to  confirm  it  in  its 
besetting  sin.  But  they  are  to  exhibit  that  fiction  of 
the  world — a  life  of  self-denial.  By  relinquishing  all 
delights,  all  passions,  all  pursuits,  by  which  the  world 
is  engrossed  and  enslaved ;  and  by  going  out  of  them- 
selves, abandoning  themselves,  evincing  a  readiness  to 
sacrifice  life  itself  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  they  are  to 
stand  out  in  vivid  contrast  with  the  selfishness  of  the 
world,  silently  to  condemn  it,  to  proclaim  a  will  higher 
than  human,  the  responsibility  of  men  to  that  will 
and  the  supreme  happiness  of  absolute  conformity  to 
it.  And  thus  they  are  to  prepare  men  to  hear  with 
effect  of  that  sacrifice  compared  with  which  nothing 
else  can  ever  deserve  the  name. 

The  world  is  sensual,  supremely  influenced  by  the 
visible  and  the  present.  The  constancy  and  force  with 
which  the  human  body  gravitates  to  the  earth  is  only 
an  emblem  of  the  manner  in  which  the  universal  heart 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  67 

of  man  tends  to  the  concerns  and  objects  of  the  world. 
But  the  members  of  this  new  society  are  to  come  out 
from  the  world  and  to  "be  separate;"  ''to  love  not 
the  world,  nor  the  things  of  the  world  ;"  "to  set  their 
affections  on  things  above."  The  Cross  is  to  them  the 
perpetual  memorial  of  a  nobler  world,  the  representative 
of  the  most  glorious  being  there,  and  the  medium  of 
constant  communication  with  it.  As  if  they  were  daily 
standing  in  the  open  portal  of  that  celestial  state,  and 
surveying  the  glories  within,  they  are  to  evince  a  de- 
cided superiority  to  all  the  objects  of  worldly  pursuit. 
And  as  if  they  were  empoweied  to  take  others  with 
them  there,  and  were  only  waiting  here  till  they  had 
succeeded,  ihey  are  to  move  among  them  as  men  not 
of  this  world  ;  angels  partly  on  the  wing. 

Now  this  twofold  piinciple  of  worldly  selfishness  or 
selfish  sensuality,  is  the  ruling  principle  of  man  and 
the  essence  of  his  guilt.  How  important,  then,  that 
the  Christian  Church  should  stand  out  from  the  world 
in  bold  and  bright  relief,  as  the  representative  of  the 
pure  and  unworldly  benevolence  of  the  Cross. 

As  a  Church,  the  faithful  are  intrusted  with  means 
eminently  calculated  to  aflect  and  benefit  the  world 
around.  They  possess  the  ministry  of  reconciliation — 
and  of  what  use  is  that  but  to  "  beseech  men  to  be 
reconciled  to  God  ?"  They  are  encouraged  to  pray, 
as  a  church,  by  a  proiiiise  of  divine  success  greater 
than  any  which  is  guaranteed  to  their  separate  and 
solitary  requests.  "If  two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth 
as  touching  any  thing  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be 
done  for  them  of  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  For 
where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name, 
there  am  T  in  the  midst  of  them."  We  are  assured 
that  in  reclaiming  the  sinner,  "the  effectual  fervent 
prayer"  of  even  one  of  the  faithful  "availeth  much." 
But  here  is  a  promise  made  to  the  united  prayer  of 
the  Church,  over  and  above  that  which  is  made  to 
private  devotion  ;  and  a  power  conferred  on  it  greater 
than  that  which  is  promised  to  all  its  members  praying 
separately. 


63  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

As  a  Church,  they  have  a  special  sphere  of  labour. 
However  small  the  circle  of  Christian  influence  which 
each  one  separately  filled  before,  from  the  moment 
they  constitute  a  Church,  the  hand  that  so  formed  them 
may  be  regarded  as  drawing  around  them  a  circle  which 
includes  ''the  region  round  about."  As  a  church, 
they  are  now  charged  with  a  collective  responsibility ; 
all  the  souls  within  that  circle  are  in  a  measure 
given  into  their  hands.  And  hence  all  their  means — 
the  mile  of  the  widow  and  the  wealth  of  the  affluent, 
the  leisure  of  one  and  the  learning  of  another,  the 
ardour  of  the  young,  the  wisdom  of  the  aged,  the 
resources  of  all,  are  to  be  combined  and  devoted  to 
the  object  of  saving  them.  Here,  the  motto  of  each 
is  to  be,  ''None  of  us  liveih  to  himself;" — each  one 
is  assigned  a  post  of  labour ;  the  influence  of  each, 
by  union  with  all,  is  made  to  be  felt;  and  as  often  as 
others  are  added  to  them,  they  are  to  regard  the  circle 
as  proportionally  enlarged,  and  are  again  to  fill  it  to 
the  circumference  with  the  influence  of  the  Cross. 

o.  In  this  way  other  churches  are  supposed  to  be 
planted.  Each  of  these  becomes  the  centre  of  a  new 
circumference.  Every  place  to  which  its  influence 
reaches,  is  to  be  a  point  for  extending  it  farther  still. 
Bursting  the  limhs  of  neighbourhood,  and  the  confines 
of  country,  they  are  to  carry  the  Cross  into  other 
lands,  there  to  rally  around  it  other  hearts,  and  thus 
to  obtain  the  means  of  farther  conquests  still.  Now, 
if  the  influence  of  the  first  converts  was  augmented 
by  collecting  ihem  into  one  compact  society,  would  it 
not  proportionally  augment  the  influence  of  these 
several  societies,  if  they  were  all  sympathetically 
united,  and  visibly  to  co-operate  as  one  Church  ? 
True,  the  obstacles  are  great,  the  sources  of  disunion 
and  division  many :  but  so  much  the  greater  the 
influence  which  would  arise  from  the  spectacle  of  their 
union.  For  in  that  event,  their  union  would  be  their 
strength,  not  only  by  increasing  their  actual  resources, 
but  also  by  evincing  to  the  world  the  surpassing  power 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  69 

of  that  principle  which  could  thus  harmonize  their 
jarring  natures,  and  fuse  all  their  hearts  and  interests 
into  one. 

Now  this,  we  know,  is  the  third  step  in  the  Scripture 
theory  of  Christian  instrumentality  for  the  conversion 
of  the  ivorld.  So  essential  a  part  of  the  theory  is 
this,  that  the  Saviour  more  than  commanded,  he  prayed 
for  it ;  prayed  for  it  at  the  foot  of  the  cross ;  prayed 
for  it  there  as  a  means  of  the  world's  conversion — 
'*  That  they  all  may  be  one  *  *  *  *  that  the  world 
may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me."  The  reason  of 
their  union  as  a  whole,  is  one  of  the  very  reasons  of 
their  existence  at  all — the  conversion  of  the  world. 
Diversified  as  they  are  in  mind,  country,  condition,  age, 
one  subject  of  emulation  is  to  displace  every  other — 
who  shall  do  most  for  the  diffusion  of  that  love  which 
draws  them  to  the  Cross,  and  which  there  binds  them 
to  each  other  ?  Zeal  is  to  come  from  one  part  of  the 
church,  to  be  directed  by  Wisdom  from  another  part. 
Here,  agents  of  mercy  are  sent  forth;  and,  there,  they 
are  met  by  funds  for  their  support.  The  conviction 
that  in  every  enterprise  of  benevolence  they  carry 
with  them  the  sympathies  and  prayers  of  the  Church, 
keeps  them,  on  the  one  hand,  from  the  thought  of 
declining,  and  puts  them,  on  the  other,  on  deeds  of 
heroism  in  the  cause  of  God  which  call  forth  the  glad 
applauses  of  Heaven.  Such  a  union  of  love  in  a  selfish 
world  could  not  fail  to  arrest  the  public  eye  ;  and  to 
assail  and  afiect  the  public  heart.  But  not  long  would 
the  world  be  left  to  speculate  and  wonder  about  it. 
They  would  find  that  the  Church  had  united  for  an 
object— that  that  object  was  their  conversion — that  they 
were  actually  beleaguered  and  assailed  in  every  form, 
and  on  every  side,  by  the  united  and  irresistible  forces 
of  Christian  love.  Thus,  while  within  itself,  the  Church 
presents  the  attractive  and  glorious  spectacle  of  a  uni- 
versal feast  of  love ;  in  relation  to  those  without,  it  is 
to  present  one  scene  of  spiritual  enterprise  and  com- 
merce, carried  on  for  the  advantage  of  the  world  at 


70  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

large,  and  visible  to  the  universe.  Convinced  that  such 
a  union  of  love  in  a  selfish  world  could  be  only  resolved 
into  a  heavenly  cause,  mankind  would  be  the  more 
prepared  •  to  recognize  the  divinity  of  the  Saviour's 
claims,  and  gratefully  to  capitulate  to  his  offered 
grace. 

4.  But  now  comes  the  last  step — the  crowning  influ- 
ence— that  without  which  all  the  other  parts  of  the  theory 
are  useless — the  effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the 
whole.  His  presence,  indeed,  is,  as  has  been  already 
remarked,  essential,  and  is  taken  for  granted,  in  the 
renovation  of  each  individual  heart,  and  in  the  for- 
mation of  every  separate  Church.  In  the  scheme  of 
salvation,  every  instrument  and  agent  has  its  appro- 
priate place,  and  its  appointed  order  of  succession.  In 
that  arrangement,  the  Spirit  is  the  prime  mover  of 
the  whole.  But  his  full  impartation  is  reserved  for 
the  couibinalion  of  the  whole.  Mightily  as  that  spec- 
tacle of  Christian  union  is  calculated  to  tell  on  the 
sinful  influences  of  earth,  as  mightily  as  is  it  to  tell,  in 
another  respect,  on  the  divine  influences  of  heav^en. 
It  is  to  draw  down  the  very  source  of  influence  himself. 
"For  there  is  one  body  and  one  Spirit" — an  entire 
body  for  an  entire  spirit.  Having  drawn  them  to 
one  centre,  and  there  united  them  in  one  object,  that 
he  might  exhibit  and  employ  them  in  one  body,  he  is 
then  to  anim.ate  and  inhabit  them  as  the  one  soul  of 
the  whole.  It  is  then  to  appear  that  their  union  is 
cemented,  not  only  by  him,  but  for  him  ;  for  only  let 
that  union  be  complete,  and  forthwith  he  will  be  seen 
impelling  the  entire  body  of  the  faithful  to  one  un- 
divided eflbrt  for  the  conversion  of  the  world — his 
sword  the  weapon  they  employ — his  inspiration  ani- 
mating them  to  the  fight — his  unmeasured  power,  as 
the  great  Missionary  Spirit  of  the  Church,  convincing 
the  world  of  sin,  and  as  the  Glorifier  of  Jesus,  crown- 
ing their  instrumentality  with  complete  success. 

Here  then  we  behold  an  answer  to  the  question 
which  we  lately  proposed — Where  is  the  agency,  and 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  71 

what  is  the  plan,  for  drawing  the  world  to  the  Cross  ? 
Here  is  an  agency  organized  expressly  for  this,  and 
useful  for  nothing  else.  Here,  if  we  briefly  examine, 
we  shall  find  that  every  element  at  work,  is  an  element 
of  influence  in  harmony  with  the  Cross,  and  subordi- 
nate to  it.  The  same  agencies,  which,  in  the  world, 
operate  against  the  Cross,  will  here  be  found  to  operate 
for  it ;  and  other  agencies,  of  which  the  world  knows 
nothing,  are  here  called  into  existence,  and  added  to 
them. 

Knowledge  is  a  means  of  usefulness — "is  power." 
''  There  is  no  power  on  earth,"  said  the  great  man  who 
originated  that  proverb,  "which  setteth  up  a  throne, 
or  chair  of  state,  in  the  spirits  and  souls  of  men,  but 
knowledge."  He  who  is  the  discoverer  or  sole  pos- 
sessor of  a  moral  truth,  has  it  in  his  power  to  exercise  a 
sovereignty  which  approaches  nearer  than  any  other  to 
the  likeness  of  the  divine  rule.  Not  only  is  he  stronger 
than  any  other  man,  or  than  any  given  number  of  men, 
but  stronger  than  all  the  race  together.  Now  the  Chris- 
tian has  had  disclosed  to  him  the  doctrine  of  the  Cross. 
His  hand  is  on  a  lever  which  can  move  the  world — 
on  the  lever  which  shall  move  it — and  his  hand  is  there 
that  inslrumentally  he  may  attempt  to  move  it.  Moses, 
descending  radient  from  divine  communion,  in  the 
mount; — the  High  Priest  reappearing  from  within 
the  mysterious  veil  ; — Isaiah,  fresh  from  the  visions 
of  the  Lord,  never  returned  to  the  wailing  and 
breathless  people  with  a  burden  so  precious — a  truth 
so  great — as  that  which  he  holds.  It  is  that  from 
which  all  other  truths  derive  their  force ;  it  comes 
''not  in  word  only,  but  in  power;"  it  is,  emphatically, 
"the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that 
believeth."  It  enables  him  to  give  back  the  world  to 
God ;  and,  by  unveiling  the  Great  Propitiation,  to 
contribute  towards  giving  back  to  God  a  world. 

Speech  is  a  means  of  influence.  It  is  the  great 
instrument  for  the  interchange  of  thought  and  feeling. 
The  thoughts  of  a  community  are  by  this  means  kept 


72  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

in  perpetual  circulation,  and  the  long  cherished  sen- 
timent of  a  private  individual  is  propagated  till  it 
acquires  the* force  and  universality  of  a  law,  and  "sets 
on  fire  the  whole  course  of  nature."  To  say  nothing 
of  the  power  of  public  oratory,  the  simplest  conversa- 
tion has  an  effect  on  the  minds  of  those  who  engage 
in  it,  regulated  by  laws  as  certain  as  those  which  direct 
the  lightning  in  its  course.  So  that  never  do  we  come 
out  from  such  intercourse  the  same  persons  as  we 
entered.  The  most  casual  remark  lives  for  ever  in  its 
effects.  There  is  not  a  word  which  has  not  a  moral 
history.  Hence  the  Satanic  art  of  calling  all  evil 
things  by  harmless  names ;  and  hence  it  is,  too,  that 
every  "idle  word"  which  men  utter,  assumes  a  cha- 
racter so  important,  that  it  will  be  made  a  subject  of 
inquest  in  the  general  judgment. 

But  the  Christian  is  taught  to  regard  the  faculty 
of  speech  as  a  vehicle  and  means  of  grace.  If  the 
noblest  use  of  his  reason  be  to  know  God,  the  highest 
employment  of  his  speech  must  be  to  impart  that 
knowledge ;  and  the  highest  knowledge  of  Him  which 
he  can  impart  is  surely  that  for  which  Christ  himself 
assumed  the  power  of  human  speech,  and  to  the 
announcement  of  which  he  devoted  it.  In  the  Church, 
language  is  promoted  into  the  grand  ordinance  of 
preaching  Christ.  Whoever  his  audience  may  be, 
the  Christian  is  to  "minister  grace  to  the  hearers." 
Even  when  he  is  not  conversing  on  grace,  his  speech 
is  to  be  "always  with  grace;"  in  harmony  with  his 
religious  character,  and  favourable  to  a  hallowed 
impression.  Like  the  narrative  and  incidental  parts 
of  Scripture,  it  is  to  illustrate  and  subserve  the 
sacred  and  saving  tendency  of  the  whole.  In  the 
salvation  of  the  Cross,  the  Gospel  has  supplied  him 
with  a  theme  of  which  his  heart  is  supposed  to  be 
full;  and  "he  cannot  but  speak  the  tilings  which 
he  has  heard  and  seen."  Every  man  he  meets  is 
interested  in  it  as  deeply  as  himself.  Every  indivi- 
dual he  addresses   may  be   perishing  through  want  of 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  73 

it.  Every  conversation  he  holds  with  others,  affords 
him  an  opportunity  of  introducing  it.  Every  word 
he  has  to  utter  concerning  it,  is  "good  news.''  Un- 
less he  speak,  they  may  die  in  ignorance  of  it : — 
and  he  is  held  conditionally  responsible  for  every  word 
he  might  have  uttered,  but  omitted  ;  and  for  every 
soul  that  perishes  through  that  neglect.  "  He  be- 
lieves, and  therefore  speaks."  As  if  his  lips  had 
been  touched  with  sacred  fire,  or  sprinkled  with 
consecrating  blood,  he  is  to  stand  in  the  midst  of  his 
circle  as  the  oracle  of  the  Cross.  His  words  are  no 
longer  his  own  ;  as  if  his  were  the  tongue  of  Christ 
himself,  or  the  only  tongue  on  earth  that  could 
testify  of  the  wonders  of  the  Cross,  he  is  to  regard 
himself  as  set  apart  to  bear  witness  of  Christ.  And 
as  it  is  his  office,  so  it  is  to  be  his  holy  ambition,  so 
to  announce  and  make  him  known,  that  at  the  close 
of  life,  and  even  of  each  day  of  life,  he  may  be  able  to 
say  as  Christ  himself  appealed  to  the  Father,  and  said, 
though  in  an  inferior  sense,  "I  have  declared  unto 
them  thy  name,  and  will  declare  it." 

Relationship,  lohetlier  natural  or  acquired,  is  a 
means  of  usefulness.  The  parent,  for  instance,  pos- 
sesses an  influence  over  his  offspring  more  powerful 
than  the  mightiest  monarch  ever  swayed  over  his 
subjects.  His  voice  is  the  first  music  they  hear; 
his  smiles  their  bliss ;  his  authority,  the  image  and 
substitute  of  the  Divine  authority.  So  absolute  is  the 
law  which  impels  them  to  believe  his  every  word,  to 
imitate  his  every  tone,  gesture,  and  action,  and  to 
receive  the  ineffaceable  impression  of  his  character, 
that  his  every  movement  drops  a  seed  into  the  virgin 
soil  of  their  hearts  to  germinate  there  for  eternity. 
His  influence,  by  blending  itself  with  their  earliest 
conceptions,  and  incorporating  with  the  very  elements  of 
their  constitution,  and  by  the  constancy,  subtlety,  variety, 
and  power  of  its  operation,  gives  him  a  command  over 
their  character  and  destiny,  which  renders  it  the  most  ap- 
propriate emblem  on  earth  of  the  influence  of  God  himself, 
7 


74  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALiry 

Now  there  is  not  a  member  of  the  human  family  who 
does  not  sustain  some  relation,  original  or  acquired, 
pubHc  or  private,  permanent  or  temporary — nor  is 
there  any  relation  which  does  not  invest  the  person 
sustaining  it  with  some  degree  of  influence.  The 
particle  of  dust  which  we  heedlessly  tread  beneath 
our  foot,  propagates  its  influence  beyond  the  remotest 
planet,  and  is  felt  through  all  space.  And  though  a 
man  may  be  apparently  standing  on  the  outermost 
verge  of  the  social  system,  he  forms  a  vital  link  in 
the  great  chain  of  dependence  which  runs  through 
the  universe,  linking  man  to  man,  age  to  age,  and 
world  to  world.  The  connexion,  indeed,  may  not  be 
visible  to  us  to  any  great  distance ;  yet  does  it  exist 
as  really  as  if  he  found  himself  standing  in  the  centre 
of  the  universe,  with  visible  lines  of  relation  drawn 
from  himself  to  every  one  of  the  congregated  myriads  ; 
nor  is  it  possible  to  detach  him  from  the  mighty 
whole.  And, — what  is  of  importance  to  remark, — 
not  only  is  there  no  relation  of  life  which  does  not 
invest  the  person  sustaining  it  with  some  degree  of 
influence,  but  which  does  not  afford  him  the  power 
of  exerting  an  influence  in  it  which  no  other  being  on 
earth  possesses. 

Here,  then,  is  an  important  talent  which  the  Christ- 
ian is  supposed  to  occupy  for  Christ.  As  if  the 
relations  which  he  sustains  had  been  appointed  now 
for  the  first  time,  and  appointed  expressly  to  give 
him  a  sphere  of  Christian  influence,  he  is  to  hold 
them  chiefly  for  Christ :  And,  indeed,  for  what  but 
holy  purposes  were  the  primary  and  principal  relations 
of  life  designed  atffirst?  For  -'did  he  not  make 
one  ?  yet  had  he  the  residue  of  the  Spirit.  And 
wherefore  one  ?  That  he  might  seek  a  godly  seed." 
So  that  in  holding  his  relationships  for  Christ,  the 
renewed  man  is  but  restoring  them  to  the  purpose 
from  which  sin  has  dissevered  them.  Is  he  a  parent  .-* 
"  The  promise  is  unto  him  and  to  his  children."  As 
he   is   related  to   the   first   Adam,   they   receive  from 


CTATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  75 

him  nothing  but  an  inheritance  of  guilt,  degradation, 
and  death ;  but  as  related  to  the  second,  he  is  to 
aim  to  cut  off  the  dreadful  entail,  and  to  train  them 
to  be  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Lord  Almighty.  As 
if  they  had  been  sent  down  to  him  in  angel  arms 
from  heaven  with  a  divine  commandfto  train  them 
for  Christ.  He  is  to  radiate  on  them  nothing  but 
hallowed  influence.  Their  first  lispings  are  to  be  of 
Christ ;  their  first  imaginings  of  his  love ;  and  their 
earliest  steps  to  his  footstool.  The  influence  of  his 
Christian  character  is  to  surround  them  like  the  at- 
mosphere of  a  temple :  that  by  being  breathed  and 
mingled  with  their  earliest  being,  it  may  become  an 
elementary  part  of  their  character.  As  if  they  had 
been  sent  to  him  expressly  with  a  divine  charge  to 
illustrate  before  the  world  the  power  and  excellence 
of  Christian  influence,  he  is  to  set  himself  apart  to 
the  grand  experiment  of  ascertaining  the  greatest 
amount  of  good  which  sanctified  parental  agency  is 
calculated  to  effect ;  how  completely  it  can  sever  and 
secure  them  from  all  counter  agencies ;  how  early  it 
can  affect  them ;  and  how  devoted  and  useful  it  can 
render  them  as  instruments  for  propagating  the  same 
influence  among  others.  In  this  way  he  is  to  illus- 
trate the  tremendous  operation  of  sin  in  having  per- 
verted a  relationship  m.eant  for  the  transmission  of 
nothing  but  good  into  a  channel  for  the  discharge  of 
an  ever-swelling  flood  of  destruction ;  and  the  tran- 
scendent influence  of  the  Cross,  which,  like  the  tree 
of  Marah,  tends  to  medicate  its  fatal  bitterness,  and 
to  turn  it  into  a  stream  of  salvation. 

But  whatever  the  relations  which  he  sustains  to 
others,  he  is  to  regard  the  influence  resulting  from  it 
as  a  cord  for  drawing  them  to  Christ.  There  is  a 
sense,  indeed,  in  which  he  stands  related  to  the  whole 
race.  The  Cross  vibrates  to  the  sounds  of  human 
misery  in  every  part  of  the  earth,  and  his  heart  is  to 
thrill  in  sympathy  with  it.  As  the  representative  of 
Christ,  he  is  to  regard  himself  as   the  centre  of  all 


76  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

that  misery ;  but  as  his  Christian  duties  lie  around 
him  in  concentric  circles,  and  as  the  first  circle  in- 
cludes those  most  nearly  related  to  him,  nothing  will 
excuse  him  for  neglecting  an  inner  for  an  outer,  be- 
cause a  larger  circle.  In  the  day  of  final  account, 
the  first  subje^f  of  inquiry,  after  that  of  his  own  per- 
sonal piety,  will  relate  to  the  salvation  of  the  souls 
immediately  around  him.  How  came  your  wife,  or 
child,  or  servant,  to  perish  ?  is  a  question  which  can- 
not be  met  by  a  plea  that  he  was  achieving  a  distant 
r  good.  He  must  not  neglect  the  Christian  welfare  of 
(  his  own  household,  then,  even  for  the  sublime  occu- 
'  pation  of  evangelizing  a  nation.  Nor  need  he — his  duty 
in  this  case  is  coincident  with  his  most  enlarged  ideas. 
For  by  filling  the  sphere  immediately  around  him 
first,  he  is  multiplying  his  agencies  for  a  wider  and 
still  wider  range  of  usefulness.  It  is  by  entering  into 
cohesive  union  with  the  particles  immediately  around 
it,  that  the  atom  becomes  a  component  part  of  the 
rock,  contributes  something  towards  the  stability  of  the 
everlasting  hills,  and  towards  the  gravity  of  the  great 
globe  itself;  and  by  erecting  the  Cross  in  his  own 
house,  and  converting  his  own  house  into  a  church, 
and  that  church  into  a  centre  of  usefulness  to  the 
neighbourhood,  he  is  preparing  to  subserve  most  effec- 
tually  the  interests  of  the  race  at  large. 

Property  is  a  means  of  wjluence.  The  material 
itself,  indeed,  of  which  money  is  made  is  intrinsically 
worthless ;  yet,  having,  by  the  general  consent  of 
society,  been  constituted  the  representative  of  all 
property,  and,  as  such,  the  key  to  all  the  avenues  of 
worldly  enjoyment,  it  excites  some  of  the  strongest 
desires,  and  reflects  some  of  the  deepest  emotions  of 
the  human  breast.  Its  fluctuations  are  the  tides  of 
national  fortune.  It  sways  the  heart  of  the  world. 
Every  piece  of  coin  that  passes  through  our  hand, 
has  been  streaming  with  influence  from  the  first 
moment  it  was  put  into  circulation.  It  has  a 
path    through    society,    and    a    history    of    its   ownj 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  77 

rather,  it  belongs  to  the  history  of  the  world.  In- 
dustry has  toiled  for  it ;  enterprise  has  hazarded  life 
for  it ;  speculation  has  gambled  for  it  ;  childhood  has 
eyed  it ;  poverty  rejoiced  over  it ;  covetousness  wor- 
shipped it; — it  has  passed  through  the  hands  of 
profligacy,  intemperance,  and  all  the  vices.  How 
often  has  it  been  carried  past  the  temple  of  God  on 
its  way  to  some  shrine  of  Satan  ;  how  seldom  been 
diverted  from  the  service  of  sin !  Could  the  history 
of  all  the  wealth  of  antiquity  be  given,  what  should 
we  hear,  but,  substantially,  the  history  of  the  ancient 
world  itself — of  its  sensual  pleasures,  its  projects  of 
ambition,  its  sanguinary  wars,  polluting  temples,  and 
national  oppressions !  How  great  the  opportunity 
then  which  the  Christian  possesses  of  gloryfying  God 
in  this  department  alone  !  While  others  are  sullenly 
appropriating  every  thing  to  themselves,  as  if  God  had 
ceased  to  reign  and  even  to  exist,  he  is  to  conse- 
crate and  offer  up  his  substance  before  their  eyes  as 
an  oblation  to  his  glory,  and  thus  daily  to  vindicate 
his  claims.  While  they  are  idolizing  money,  and 
making  it  the  common  object  of  their  trust,  he  is  to 
strike  at  its  very  throne,  and  to  awaken  them  from  the 
dream  of  its  omnipotence,  by  showing  that  its  highest 
value  arises  from  its  subserviency  to  the  purposes  of 
the  Gospel.  He  may  not  possess  much — but  he  is  to 
look  on  himself  as  intrusted  with  what  he  does  pos- 
sess partly  for  the  purpose  of  disparaging  it  before 
the  world.  Its  influence  depends,  not  on  its  amount, 
but  on  the  way  in  which  he  employs  it ;  and  by 
casting  his  "  two  mites"  into  the  temple  treasury,  he 
may  at  once  be  publicly  vindicating  the  outraged 
supremacy  of  the  "blessed  God,"  and  asserting  the 
claims  of  "the  glorious  Gospel,"  and  constraining 
men,  more  than  by  a  thousand  arguments,  to  bow  to  its 
divinity. 

Self-denial  is  a  means  of  useful  influence.     So  un- 
earthly a  quality  is  this,   that  no  man   can  fully   and 
consistently     exhibit     it     without     exposing     himself, 
7* 


78  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

perhaps  for  years,  to  the  suspicion  of  assuming  it  for 
some  sinister  object  in  the  distance.  But  does  not  this 
very  incredulity,  arising  from  the  extreme  rareness  of 
true  self-denial,  hold  out  to  him  the  promise  of  pro- 
portionate influence  hereafter,  should  he  live  long 
enough  to  vanquish  that  incredulity  and  to  enjoy  the 
reaction  of  opinion  in  his  favour?  His  self-denial, 
indeed,  is  meantime  furnishing  him  with  all  those 
means  of  benevolence  which  self-indulgence  would 
have  lavished  on  itself;  and  these,  by  increasing  his 
usefulness,  are  augmenting  his  influence.  But  the 
influence  which  he  acquires,  by  this  increase  of  actual 
means,  is  as  nothing  compared  with  that  which  he  ob- 
tains by  the  fact,  when  it  comes  to  be  known — that 
he  denies  himself  in  order  to  obtain  it.  The  amount 
which  he  saves  may  be  only  an  additional  mite,  but 
the  fact  that  he  habitually  denies  himself  in  order  to 
obtain  it  as  a  means  of  doing  good,  will  ultimately 
invest  him  with  a  greater  moral  influence  than  the 
stranger  to  self-denial,  though  the  giver  of  thousands, 
can  ever  possess. 

Now  Christianity  is  a  system  of  self-denial,  and  the 
Church  is  supposed  to  be  its  home.  How  can  it  be 
otherwise  ?  Its  centre  is  a  Cross.  This  is  at  once  the 
secret  of  its  influence  to  attract ;  and  the  means  of  its 
power  to  save.  Having  felt  that  attraction  and  expe- 
rienced that  power,  the  Christian  is  to  extend  its 
influence  by  exhibiting  in  his  own  life  the  image  of 
the  Cross.  Were  it  possible  for  him  to  live  in  worldly 
self-indulgence,  he  would  be  doing  all  in  his  power, 
not  only  to  stop  the  influence  of  the  Cross  from  ex- 
tending beyond  himself,  but  to  eftace  from  the  memory 
of  a  world  too  willing  to  forget — that  Christianity  ever 
had  a  Cross.  The  only  evidence  on  which  the  world 
will  believe  that  Christ  was  voluntarily  crucified  for 
its  redemption  is,  that  the  Christian  be  seen,  in  the 
true  spirit  of  his  Lord,  voluntarily,  and,  in  a  sense, 
vicariously  denying  himself  in  the  w^ork  of  diffusing 
the  blessings  of  that  redemption. 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  79 

As  the  representative  of  the  Cross,  then,  the  Church     ^ 
is  charged  with  a  responsibility   which  requires  the  prin-    / 
ciple  of  self-denial  to  pervade  the  whole  of   its  instru-   ■ 
mentality,  and  to  become  the  law  of  its  beneficence. 

Compassion  is  a  means  of  useful  influence.  Even 
one  of  its  tones,  has  often  opened  the  heart  when  the 
rack  could  not  open  the  lips;  and  in  the  Christian 
Church  it  is  supposed  to  reign.  The  Cross  is  the 
utterance  of  Divine  compassion,  and  the  Church  col- 
lected around  it  is  a  proof  of  its  power.  The  com- 
passion which  bled  on  the  Cross,  here  beats  in  the 
hearts  of  all  its  members.  They  know  the  wretched- 
ness of  sin  into  which  the  world  is  sunk — look  forwards 
to  the  end  of  its  course — hear  already  its  doom  pro- 
nounced— see  the  pit  open  to  receive  it — and  hear, 
by  anticipation,  its  hopeless  cries  for  deliverance.  And 
the  deep  anxiety  which  they  feel  to  "snatch  the  fire- 
brands from  the  flames,"  and  to  quench  them  in  the 
blood  of  the  Cross,  imparts  a  depth  of  tenderness  to 
their  tones,  an  earnestness  of  solicitude  to  their  manner, 
and  a  combination  and  energy  to  their  efforts,  which 
give  them  a  power  over  the  mind  beyond  that  of  the 
most  original  truths  unfeelingly  delivered,  or  the  stern 
authority  of  law  itself. 

Persevering  activity  in  the  attainment  of  a  useful 
or  benevolent  object  is  another  means  of  usefulness.  It 
is  by  perseverance  that  the  small  stream  of  the  moun- 
tain, a  thousand  leagues  from  the  parent  sea,  conquers 
intervening  obstacles,  wears  itself  a  channel,  swells  to 
a  river,  traverses  continents,  gives  names  to  countries, 
assigns  boundaries  to  empires,  and  becomes  celebrated 
in  history.  And  by  patiently  persevering  with  his  face 
and  step  always  direct  towards  his  object,  a  single  indi- 
vidual will  acquire  an  amount  of  influence  and  success  in 
reference  to  that  object,  which  a  multitude,  pursuing  it 
only  by  convulsive  starts,  would  fail  to  obtain.  The 
multitude  itself,  gradually  awed  into  resj3ect  for  his 
steady  onward  course,  will  come  at  length  to  clear  a 
space,  and  make  way  for  his  advance.     And  though  for 


80  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

years  his  cause  may  not  appear  to  be  attended  with  any 
success,  an  event,  unexpected  perhaps,  will  at  length 
disclose  that  there  never  was  a  moment  in  which  he 
was  not  exciting  the  silent  admiration  of  some,  and 
preparing  numbers  to  fall  into  his  train,  and  to  yield 
themselves  up  entirely  to  his  influence. 

Now  the  Christian  has  motives  to  patient  perse- 
verance in  promoting  the  knowledge  of  Christ  which 
no  other  object  can  inspire,  no  other  man  can  know. 
The  persisting  energy  which  built  the  mountain  pyra- 
mids of  Egypt — which  reared  the  Chinese  wall — by 
which  Alexander  conquered  the  old  world — Columbus 
discovered  the  new — and  Newton  elaborated  the  system 
of  the  universe,  had  trifles  for  its  objects,  compared 
with  the  aim  of  Christian  instrumentality  to  save  the 
world.  But  besides  the  infinite  importance  of  his 
object,  engaging,  as  it  has  the  divine  perseverance  from 
eternity,  there  never  was  a  moment  in  the  life  of  Christ 
his  Great  Exemplar,  which  was  not  directly  or  in- 
directly made  subordinate  to  it ;  there  is  not  a  moment 
in  which  the  command  is  suspended  "  be  not  weary  in 
well-doing,"  ''be  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the 
Lord."  So  that,  unless  it  can  be  shown,  that  the 
perishing  world  ever  pauses  in  its  cry  for  deliverance, 
or  that  the  Destroyer  ever  pauses  in  working  the  great 
system  of  destruction,  the  Christian  can  know  no 
moment  in  which  it  is  permitted  him  to  pause  in  his 
peculiar  vocation.  The  termination  of  one  duty  is  to 
be  only  a  signal  for  the  commencement  of  another ; 
his  life  is  to  be  one  continuous  act  of  obedience. 
Every  day  returns  charged  with  an  amount  of  obliga- 
tion proportioned  to  his  utmost  means  of  usefulness. 
His  utmost  powers  are  to  be  constrained  into  the 
service,  till  by  the  force  of  habit  his  perseverance 
becomes  invincible.  He  is  to  live  under  the  over 
^  present  conviction  that  he  has  one  thing  to  do,  and 
\  i  that  he  is  in  danger  of  dying  before  it  is  done ;  cheered 
u  on  by  the  assurance  that  every  act  adds  a  ray  to  the 
i  5  radiance    of   that    crown   which  he   hopes   to   lay   at 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  81 

his  Saviour's  feet,  and  tends  to  secure  the  perse- 
verance of  others  when  he  himself  shall  have  gone  to 
receive  it. 

And  this  reminds  us  that  the  great  designs  of  the 
Christian  are  entailed  ;  for  the  Church  on  earih,  though 
mortal  in  its  members,  as  a  community  is  undying. 
History  informs  us  of  some  governments,  which  having 
formed  schemes  of  national  aggrandisement  too  vast  to 
be  accomplished  within  "the  hour  glass  of  one  man's 
life,"  have  devolved  the  prosecution  of  them  as  a  sacred 
duty  on  those  who  came  after  them.  The  Christian 
Church  is  to  exhibit  the  sublimiO  spectacle  of  an  un- 
earthly government,  embarked  in  an  enterprise  of  mercy 
for  all  time.  Its  members  are  ''commanded  to  make 
it  known  to  their  children,  that  the  generation  to  come 
might  know  it,  even  the  children  who  should  be  born ; 
who  should  arise  and  declare  it  to  their  children."  And 
as  time  rolls  on,  the  only  change  which  this  spiritual 
government  is  to  exhibit  is  that  which  necessarily 
arises,  under  God,  from  persevering  fidelity  to  its 
original  design — extended  domains,  and  a  nearer  ap- 
proach to  universal  conquest.  "For  the  greatness  of 
the  kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  be  given 
to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High." 

Prayer  is  influence.  Appeals,  entreaties,  and  peti- 
tions, between  man  and  man,  move  the  aflairs  of  this 
world;  but  in  the  Church,  they  move  Heaven.  All 
those  other  things  which  we  have  described  as  exer- 
cising influence,  become  spiritually  useful  only  by  that 
power  which  descends  in  answer  to  prayer.  Other 
means  may  be  influential,  but  the  amount  of  their 
influence  is  incalculable,  bearing  a  proportion  to  the 
power  employed ; — but  prayer,  by  engaging  a  divine 
power,  sets  all  calculation  at  defiance.  Other  means 
may  be  good— but  what  must  that  be,  the  effect  of 
which  is  to  bring  down  Goodness  himself; — and  yet 
here  the  entire  Church  is  supposed  to  be  in  daily, 
unceasing,  impassioned,  entreaty  for  the  Spirit  to 
'^convince  the  world  of  sin." 


82  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

Union  is  a  means  of  usefulness.  And  here  it  is  sup- 
posed to  be  universal,  visible,  divine.  As  to  each 
individual ;  here  is  the  union  of  the  whole  man — all 
his  principles  and  passions  combined — no  part  of  his 
nature  wanting — no  part  shedding  a  counter-influence — 
the  whole  man  bound  and  braced  up  for  one  purpose, 
as  if  devoted  to  the  grand  experiment  of  ascertaining 
how  much  a  single  human  agent  can  eflect  in  the  cause 
of  Christ.  Here  is  the  union  of  a  number  of  these  in 
a  particular  Church — in  which  none  is  inactive — each 
has  his  post — all  act  in  concert — the  whole  blent  into  a 
single  power,  and  putting  forth  an  undivided  effort  to 
draw  the  world  around  them  to  Christ.  Here  is  the 
union  of  all  these  distinct  societies  in  one  collective 
body — bringing  together  agencies  the  most  distant — 
harmonizing  materials  once  the  most  discordant — 
blending  hearts  naturally  the  most  selfish — in  bands 
more  tender  than  those  of  kindred,  and  so  sympathetic 
that  the  emotion  of  one  thrills  through  them  all — a 
union  which  economizes  and  combines  all  the  energies 
and  passions  of  sanctified  humanity — which,  collecting 
all  the  scattered  agencies  of  good  that  earth  contains, 
organizes  them  into  a  vast  engine  whose  entire  power 
is  to  be  brought  to  bear  for  the  conversion  of  the 
world.  And  then,  not  merely  in  addition  to,  but 
infinitely  more  than  all,  here  is  the  union  of  Divine 
Influence  with  the  whole — heaven  come  down  to  earth 
— the  powers  of  the  future  world  imparted  to  the  pre- 
sent— the  Spirit  himself,  in  a  sense,  incarnate — per- 
vading his  body  the  Church — investing  it  with  un- 
earthly power — and  employing  it  as  the  organ  of  an 
almighty  influence  for  recovering  the  world  to  Christ. 

Such,  then,  is  an  outline  of  the  Scripture  Theory  of 
that  agency  by  which  Christ  proposes  to  reclaim  the 
world.  Can  we  forbear  to  admire  the  simplicity  of  its 
principle  ?  It  is  simply  the  law  of  reciprocal  influence, 
baptized  in  the  blood  of  the  Cross,  and  endued  with 
the  energy  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  All  in  God  that  can 
influence,  is  brought  to  bear,  through  the  Cross,  on  all 


STATED  AND  EXPLAINED.  83 

in  man  that  can  be  influenced,  and  the  whole  of  that 
is  then  put  into  requisition  by  the  Spirit  to  influence 
others.  If  this  theory  were  reahzed,  could  we  ques- 
tion its  efficiency  ?  Of  all  who  are  brought  within  its 
scope,  each  of  them  is  prepared  to  say,  ''  None  of  us 
liveth  to  himself" — and  what  but  the  expansion  of  that 
sentiment  is  necessary  to  fill  the  world  with  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Cross  ?  Could  we  doubt  its  ultimate 
and  universal  triumph  ?  What,  when  the  Spirit  him- 
self had  come  down  to  work  the  entire  system  ?  What, 
when  the  Church  withheld  nothing  that  could  influence, 
and  the  Spirit  withheld  nothing  that  could  crown  that 
influence  with  success  ?  If  even  the  secret  tear  of  an 
obscure  penitent  on  earth  creates  a  sensation  among 
the  seraphim,  the  ''travail"  of  such  an  agency  for  the 
salvation  of  the  world  would  carry  with  it  the  sympa- 
thies of  the  holy  universe.  God  would  bless  it ;  and 
^'all  the  ends  of  the  earth  would  fear  him." 


CHAPTER    II. 


THE  THEORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUIMENTALITY  FOR  THE  CONVER- 
SION OF  THE  WORLD,  ILLUSTRATED  AND  ENFORCED  FROI\I  THE 
WORD  OF  GOD. 

If  it  be  true  that  the  Christian  Church  is  thus  con- 
structed expressly  to  embody  and  diffuse  the  influence 
of  the  Cross — and  if  its  full  efficiency  for  this  end 
depends  under  God  on  the  entireness  of  its  consecration 
to  this  office,  we  may  take  it  for  granted  that  this  truth 
will  not  only  bear  to  be  subjected  to  certain  appropriate 
tests,  but  that  all  the  results  of  such  an  examination 
can  only  tend  to  illustrate  its  importance,  and  to  en- 
force its  practical  application. 

If  the  economy  of  Christian  influence  be  more  than 
a  temporary  expedient  to  meet  an  emergency — if  it 
form  a  part  of  an  original  plan — may  we  not  expect 
to  find,  for  instance,  that  he  who  "sees  the  end  from 
the  beginning,"  and  who  so  often  sketches  an  outhne 
of  the  future  in  the  events  of  the  present  or  the  past, 
has  indicated  his  purpose  in  the  dispensations  which 
preceded  it  ?  Accordingly,  we  find  that  from  the 
moment  when  the  first  promise  was  announced,  the 
instrumentality  employed  to  impart  it  was  calculated 
to  give  it  the  widest  diffusion  and  the  greatest  effect. 

I.  During  the  long  lapse  of  years  prior  to  the  flood, 
this  instrumentality  was  domestic^  or  patriarchal.  By 
creating   one   common  father  of   the  species,  making 


CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY,  ETC.  85 

him  the  depositary  of  the  first  communication  from 
heaven,  and  prolonging  his  hfe  to  nearly  a  thousand 
years,  the  Almighty  may  be  regarded  as  making  the 
wisest  and  most  gracious  arrangement  for  the  welfare 
of  his  fallen  posterity.  For  in  each  and  all  of  the 
myriads  to  which  they  had  multiplied,  Adam  would 
only  behold  the  multiplications  of  himself,  and  would 
therefore  be  supposed  to  feel  a  father's  yearning  soli- 
citude for  their  recovery  to  God.  And  even  as  late 
as  "in  the  days  of  Noe,"  the  comparative'^ recency- of 
the  fall,  and  its  immediate  results,  by  rendering  [these 
results  so  much  the  more  impressive  and  personally 
interesting ;  the  small  amount  and  the  simplicity  of  the 
revelation  which  had  then  been  made,  by  rendering  it 
so  much  the  easier  to  be  remembered  and  imparted  ; 
the  universal  prevalence  of  the  same  language,  by  ren- 
dering it  so  much  the  easier  to  diffuse  that  knowledge 
universally ;  and  the  continued  longevity  of  man,  by 
enabling  one  party  to  speak  with  the  authority  and 
tenderness  of  a  parent,  disposing  the  other  to  listen 
with  the  docility  and  faith  of  children,  and  giving  to 
each  a  family  interest  in  the  religious  welfare  of  all — 
afforded  facilities  for  diffusing  the  knowledge  of  God, 
which  strikingly  evinced  his  readiness  to  save,  and 
loudly  called  on  all  to  inculcate  and  exhibit  that  faith 
by  which  Abel  "  obtained  witness  that  he  was  righteous," 
and  Enoch  ''had  this  testimony  that  he  pleased  God." 

11.  The  patriarchal  dispensation,  subsequent  to  the 
deluge,  was  migratory.  By  calling,  and  ''preaching 
the  Gospel  to  Abraham"* — removing  him  from  pro- 
vince to  province  through  a  protracted  life — investing 
him  with  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the  nations  among 
whom  he  sojourned — sending  his  posterity  into  Egypt, 
and  keeping  them  there  for  ages  as  a  marked  and  dis- 
tinct people — leading  them  out  by  miracle — conducting 
them  slowly  and   circuitously  to  Canaan   as   an   entire 

*  Gal.  iii.  8. 


SQ  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

''Church" — by  these  means,  not  only  did  the  Al- 
mighty render  the  truth  migratory,  and  afford  every 
nation  which  it  visited  an  opportunity  of  learning  it — 
he  may  also  be  regarded  as  intimating  the  aggressive 
and  missionary  character  of  his  future  church,  and  the 
entireness  with  which  it  should  unite  and  consecrate 
all  its  resources  to  accomplish  Us  march  through  the 
world. 

III.  The  Mosaic  dispensation  was  national  and  sta- 
tionary. Yet  differing  as  it  did  in  this  respect  from  the 
preceding,  it  contained  every  prerequisite  for  answering 
its  end  as  a  local  witness  for  God,  and  for  proving  a 
universal  blessing.  It  was  first  a  focus  in  which  all  the 
rays  of  revelation  met,  that  it  might  next  be  a  centre 
whence  the  light  of  truth  should  radiate  and  pour  forth 
in  all  directions  over  the  face  of  the  earth.  Nothing 
was  omitted  from  its  character  and  constitution  calcu- 
lated to  promote  this  gracious  design.  Its  early  history 
was  a  history  of  miracles,  to  excite  the  attention  and 
draw  to  itself  the  eyes  of  the  wonder-loving  world ; 
it.s  ritual  was  splendid  and  unique  ;  its  members  were 
distinguished  in  character  from  those  of  every  other 
people  on  the  face  of  the  earth  ;  its  creed  or  testimony 
was  eminently  adapted  to  the  existing  state  of  the 
world,  for  it  proclaimed  a  God  and  promised  a  Sa- 
viour ;  its  members  possessed  a  deep  personal  interest 
in  the  truth  of  the  testimony  they  gave ;  and,  what 
was  especially  important,  its  geographical  position  was 
central.*  That  large  portion  of  the  earth  whose 
waters  flow  into  the  Mediterranean,  is  the  grand 
historical  portion  of  the  world  as  known  to  the  an- 
cients. Judea  was  situated  in  the  midst  of  it,  like  the 
sini  in  the  centre  of  the  solar  system..  Placed  at  the 
top  of  the  Mediterranean,  it  was,  during  each  suc- 
cessive monarchy,  always  within  sight  of  the  nations ; 
and  its  temple-fires,  like  the  Pharos  of  the  world,   were 

*  Ezek.  V.  5. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  87 

always  flinging  their  warning  light  across  the  gross 
darkness  of  heathenism,  protesting  against  idolatry, 
proclaiming  the  one  living  and  true  God,  inviting  the 
nations  to  come  and  worship  before  him,  and  fore- 
telling the  advent  of  One  whose  light  should  enlighten 
the  world.  The  very  site  of  its  temple  was  prophetic ; 
placed  on  the  summit  of  Zion,  it  foretold  that  "it  shall 
come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  that  the  mountain  of  the 
Lord's  house  shall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the 
mountains,  and  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills,  and 
all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it." 

And  thus,  though  the  Jewish  economy  was  essen- 
tially national  and  stationary,  yet  so  far  from  being 
exclusive,  it  was  studiously  adapted  to  bless  the  entire 
race.  Its  history  attested  an  omnipresent  providence. 
Its  moral  laws  were  of  universal  obligation.  Its  sacri- 
fices proclaimed  the  Divine  placability,  and  said,  "Look 
unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  ye  ends  of  the  earth." 
The  name  selected  and  inscribed  on  his  temple  by  God 
himself,  harmonized  with  this  unlimited  invitation  of 
mercy;  "  My  house  shall  be  called  a  house  of  prayer 
for  all  people — it  shall  proclaim  that  I  am  now  on  my 
throne  giving  audience  to  the  w^orld."  And  with  this 
gracious  design  the  prayers  of  his  worshippers  con- 
curred, "Let  the  people  praise  thee,  O  God,  let  all  the 
people  praise  thee  ;  and  let  the  whole  earth  be  filled 
with  his  glory."  While  the  spirit  of  its  evangelical 
prophecies  looked  forwards  to  the  sublime  spectacle  of 
a  world  in  prayer  and  sang,  "Oh  thou  that  hcarest 
prayer,  to  thee  shall  all  flesh  come." 

To  this  high  and  holy  office  of  blessing  the  world 
the  Jewish  Church  was  devoted  by  God,  with  all  the 
enlireness  of  consecration  belonging  to  their  own  tem- 
ple— "  This  people  have  I  formed  for  myself,  they 
shall  show  forth  my  praise."  They  constituted  his 
chosen  representatives  to  an  apostate  w'orld.  And  how 
could  they  represent  his  existence  and  spirituality,  but 
by  maintaining  their  own  existence  entirely  distinct 
from   the  idolatrous  nations   around,   and   exhibiting   a 


88  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

character  for  excellence  incomparably  above  them  ? 
How  could  they  exhibit  to  mankind  an  image  of  the 
amplitude  of  the  Divine  benevolence,  but  by  becoming 
the  priests  and  intercessors  of  the  revolted  world,  and 
by  entreating  that  he  would  hasten  the  advent  of  hira 
in  whom  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  were  to  be 
blessed  ?  As  certainly  as  they  failed  to  answer  their 
end,  by  losing  sight  of  the  lofty  relative  intention  of 
their  office,  so  surely  by  keeping  that  gracious  intention 
in  view,  and  devoting  themselves  to  the  exalted  task  of 
answering  it,  would  they  have  become  the  spiritual 
benefactors  of  the  world. 

The  institution  of  the  Christian  Church,  then,  the 
union  of  all  its  parts,  and  the  consecration  of  all  its 
powers,  for  the  spiritual  recovery  of  the  world  is  no 
new  thing  in  the  earth.  The  Jewish  economy,  in  which 
every  act  of  a  nation  was  prescribed,  from  which 
nothing  was  excluded  as  insignificant,  by  which  every 
thing  was  exalted  into  religion,  and  the  whole  com- 
bined into  a  useful  instrumentality,  was  its  ancient, 
appropriate,  and  luminous  type.  Nor  will  the  Chris- 
tian Church  answer  the  sublime  purpose  of  its  insti- 
tution in  relation  to  the  world,  unless  it  recognizes 
in  the  entire  consecration  of  the  Jewish  Church  a  type 
of  its  own,  and  devotes  itself  to  the  work  of  blessing 
mankind  with  an  entireness,  spirituality,  and  zeal,  as 
much  superior  to  what  was  to  be  expected  from  the 
Jews,  as  the  character  of  its  redemption  is  superior  to 
the  mere  temporal  deliverance  from  Egypt.  Alas ! 
that  we  should  be  so  much  more  ready  to  recognize 
in  their  rescue  a  type  of  our  own,  than  to  discern  the 
intended  emblem  of  that  relative  devotedness  which 
God  requires,  in  the  perfect  consecration  of  their 
temple,  and  the  studied  adaptation  of  their  entire 
economy  to  instruct  and  benefit  mankind. 

IV.  But  if  even  the  preliminary  dispensation  thus 
clearly  intimated  what  would  be  the  lofty  and  benevolent 
character  of  the  Christian  Church,  may  we   not  much 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  89 

more  expect  to  find  that  character  embodied  in  the 
life  of  its  Incarnate  Founder?  Accordingly,  the  cha- 
racter of  Christ  will  be  found  not  merely  to  illustrate 
his  new  dispensation,  but  to  form  at  once  its  type,  its 
origin,  and  its  glory.  His  church  is  to  be  simply  the 
expansion  of  his  character.  So  that  were  each  of  its 
members  to  emulate  a  Paul  in  devoted ness  and  zeal, 
and  all  of  them  to  be  united  in  a  body  as  entire  as 
the  person  of  Christ  himself,  they  would  be  only  and 
inadequately  exemplifying  the  character  of  their  Lord. 
"For  their  sakes,"  said  he,  "I  sanctify  myself" — I 
devote  myself  entirely  to  the  work  of  human  redemp- 
tion. In  pursuance  of  this  voluntary  engagement,  he 
withdrew  himself,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  from  the  glories  of  heaven,  and  set  himself 
apart  to  the  sorrows  of  earth,  and  to  the  sufferings  of 
a  vicarious  death.  Though  he  saw  as  from  a  height, 
the  whole  array  of  duty  and  trial  which  awaited  him, 
the  only  emotion  he  evinced  at  the  sight  was,  a  holy 
impatience  to  reach  the  Cross  which  stood  at  the  end 
of  his  path — a  self-consuming  ardour  to  be  baptized 
with  that  baptism  of  blood.  Though  all  the  fulness 
and  fire  of  the  passions  dwelt  in  him,  never  did  he  waste 
a  single  feeling,  but  devoted  the  whole  as  consecrated 
fuel  for  offering  up  the  great  sacrifice  in  which  his  life 
was  consumed,  and  by  which  the  world  might  be  saved. 
And  why  did  he  this  ?  not  merely  to  impart  a  bene- 
volent spirit  to  his  dispensation,  though  this  is  one  of 
its  sublime  results.  But  as  the  reason  of  that  bene- 
volent spirit  is  to  be  sought  for  in  his  character,  so  the 
reasons  of  his  character  are  to  be  sought  for  in  a  sphere 
higher  than  this  w^orld,  and  in  a  period  prior  to  the 
commencement  of  time.  "  To  the  intent  that  now 
unto  the  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places 
might  be  known  by  the  Church,  the  manifold  wisdom 
of  God,  according  to  the  eternal  purpose  which  he 
purposed  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."*     The  reasons  of 

*  Eph.  iii.  10,  11. 
8* 


90  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALiry 

his  mediatorial  character,  are  to  he  found  in  that  eternal 
purpose  which  appointed  him  to  the  office  of  embodying 
before  the  eyes  of  the  universe  the  glory  of  the  Divine 
benevolence  in  the  salvation  of  man.  Charged  with 
this  exalted  office,  he  came  forth  and  stood  before  the 
world  as  the  visible  representative  of  the  invisible  God. 
*' He  that  hath  seen  me,"  said  he,  "hath  seen  the  Father 
also."  "  Henceforth  ye  know  the  Father  and  have  seen 
him."  ''I  and  my  Father  are  one."  Possessed  with 
the  infinite  magnitude  of  the  task  he  had  undertaken, 
nothing  could  for  a  moment  divert  his  eye  from  it ; 
every  action  and  item  of  his  life  was  referrible  to  this, 
and  subsidiary  to  it.  As  far  as  consistent  with  the 
laws  of  mediation,  he  was  content  to  conceal  himself, 
to  merge  his  own  claims,  that  he  might  occupy  the 
whole  of  our  field  of  vision  with  the  love  of  God.  He 
goes  even  beyond  this;  "therefore  doth  my  Father 
love  me,"  saith  he,  -'because  I  lay  down  my  life  for 
pthe  sheep;"  in  other  words,  "My  Father  loves  you 
ll  with  a  love  so  unbounded,  that  he  even  loves  me  the 
^  f  more  for  dying  to  redeem  you.  Pie  so  loves  you,  that 
whatever  facilitates  the  expression  of  his  love  receives 
an  expression  of  his  divine  esteem  :  by  sustaining  your 
liabilities,  by  surrendering  my  life  as  an  equivalent  for 
your  transgressions,  and  thus  vindicating  his  law  from 
all  appearance  of  connivance  at  sin,  I  am  setting  his 
compassion  at  liberty  ;  I  am  removing  a  restraint  from 
his  love  which  threatened  to  hold  it  in  eternal  suspense  ; 
I  am  enabling  his  grace  to  act,  to  save  whom  it  will ; 
and  for  thus  concurring  in  his  benevolent  purpose,  and 
opening  an  ample  channel  for  the  tide  of  his  love  to 
flow  in,  the  Father  loves  me ;  I  receive  such  additional 
expressions  of  his  complacency,  that  though  inefl^ably 
beloved  from  eternity,  he  may  be  said  to  have  had  added 
infinite  delight  to  infinite."  Thus  unreservedly  did  the 
Saviour  lay  himself  out  even  to  the  death,  to  aggrandize 
our  conceptions  of  the  grace  of  God. 

And  how  could  it  be   otherwise  ?     Reposing  as   he 
had  from  eternity  in  the  bosom  of   that  infinite  love 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  91 

which  he  had  come  to  earth  to  represent ;  mingling  as 
he  had,  in  its  all-comprehending  counsels ;  knowing, 
as  he  did,  its  infinite  treasures  accumulated  from  eter- 
nity, he  knew  that  no  representation  within  the  limits 
of  possibility,  could  adequately  impress  us  with  its 
vastness — how  then,  could  he  be  satisfied  with  doing 
less  than  the  uttermost,  which  humanity  sustained  by 
divinity  could  effect,  in  order  to  express  it  ?  A  love 
whose  sacrifices  might  be  numbered  and  measured,  could 
not  adequately  express  a  "love  which  passeth  know- 
ledge;" therefore  it  was  that  he  withheld  nothing,  but 
"gave  himself  for  us."  Could  less  than  the  deep  "tra- 
vail of  his  soul,"  have  represented  the  pulsations  and 
throes  of  infinite  compassion  ?  Therefore  it  was,  that 
"being  in  an  agony,  he  sweat  as  it  were  great  drops 
of  blood  falling  to  the  ground" — that  he  "endured  the 
cross,  despising  the  shame."  True  it  is,  that  know- 
ing as  we  do,  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  we 
may  well  be  filled  W'iih  astonishment  at  its  amazing 
riches;  but  equally  true  is  it,  that  knowing  as  he  did, 
the  infinite  extent  of  the  love  of  God  which  he  had 
engaged  to  represent,  he  felt  that  nothing  less  than 
such  a  display  of  grace  could  sufficiently  express  it — 
that  even  when  all  the  infinite  capability  of  his  nature 
was  in  stress,  nothing  that  he  might  say  or  suffer  could 
possibly  exaggerate  our  conceptions  of  the  grace  of  God. 
Now  be  it  remembered,  that  having  thus  embodied 
the  love  of  the  Father,  he  has  devolved  it  on  his 
people  to  multiply  the  copies  of  his  character  in  their 
own  lives.  "As  thou  hast  made  me  thy  messenger 
to  the  world,  I  have  made  them  my  messengers 
to  the  world."*  They  have  now  to  do  instrumentally 
for  Christ,  what  he  did  efficaciously  and  really  for  the 
Father ;  to  represent  his  benevolence  to  the  world.  In 
making  them  partakers  of  his  grace,  he  not  only  intends 
their  own  salvation,  he  intends  the  salvation  of  others 
by  their  instrumentality ;  he  intends  that  they  should  go 

*  John  xvii.  18.      Dr.  Campbell's  translation,  only  substituting 
''messenger"  for  "apostle." 


92  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

forth  from  his  presence  as  messengers,  conveying  to  the 
world  the  cheering  intelhgence,  that  he  is  still  sitting 
on  his  throne  of  mercy  waiting  to  be  gracious  ;  and  that 
they  should  spare  no  eflbrt  or  sacrifice,  which  may  be 
necessary  in  order  to  proclaim  the  fact  universally.  He 
says  to  them,  in  effect,  you  have  given  yourselves  to 
me,  and  I  give  you  to  the  world — give  you  as  my 
representatives.  Look  on  yourselves  as  dedicated  to 
this  ofiice,  as  I  in  another  and  a  higher  sense,  was 
appointed  to  represent  the  gracious  character  of  God. 

Hence,  partly,  the  mighty  obligations  they  are  under 
to  task  their  utmost  powers  for  the  diffusion  of  his 
gospel.  For  if  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  turn 
all  his  infinite  nature  into  grace — that  he  should  dis- 
solve into  a  fountain  of  healing  mercy,  for  the  recovery 
of  the  world,  in  order  to  do  justice  to  the  love  of  God, 
is  it  less  necessary  that  their  natures  should  be  turned 
into  tenderness  and  love,  in  order  to  furnish  the  w^orld 
with  an  idea  of  his  grace  ?  A  very  small  portion  of 
the  ocean  might  suflice  to  represent  a  river,  but  will 
less  than  the  Amazon  suffice  to  represent  the  ocean } 
And  are  our  powers  so  capacious — our  natures  so  ex- 
alted, tiiat  less  than  the  consecration  of  the  whole  should 
be  able  to  convey  an  idea  of  his  grace  .''  So  vast  were 
his  conceptions  of  the  love  of  God  that  he  attempted 
not  to  describe  it — he  contented  himself  with  saying, 
that  "God  so  loved  us;"  and  aimed  rather  to  express 
its  indescribable  amount  in  godlike  deeds.  And  did  he 
fall  so  far  short  of  the  great  reality — was  his  repre- 
sentation of  it  so  scant  and  meagre  that  we  can  imitate 
it  without  sacrifice  or  effort  ?  It  is  true,  his  example 
can  never  be  equalled,  for  it  embodies  infinite  goodness  ; 
but  with  so  much  the  greater  force  does  it  oblige  us 
in  our  humble  measure  to  attempt  the  imitation.  Hav- 
ing died  for  the  good  of  man,  the  least  he  is  entitled 
to  expect  is,  that  we  should  live  for  the  same  bene- 
volent object.  To  save  the  world  was  his  vocation, 
his  supreme  and  single  object — so  that  never  do  we  so 
much  resemble  him.  as  when  we  make  it  our  business 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  93 

and  calling  to  cany  out  bis  gracious  design.  Yes,  as 
far  as  religion  is  practical  and  relative  to  others,  he 
has  made  benevolence  its  life  and  essence  ;  not  merely 
a  part  of  the  Christian's  character,  but  the  character 
itself. 

V.  The  fact  that  the  followers  of  Christ  are  appointed 
to  be  the  channels  and  representatives  of  his  grace  to 
the  world,  supposes  that  they  are  called,  prepared,  and 
aided  by  an  agency  from  on  high.  Accordingly,  he, 
promised  them  that  the  loss  of  his  visible  presence 
should  be  amply  compensated  by  the  advent  of  "  an- 
other Comforter,  who  should  abide  with  them  for  ever." 
May  we  not  expect,  then,  that  the  Scripture  theory 
of  Christian  instrumentality  will  receive  abundant  con- 
firmation from  the  nature  of  his  dispensation,  and  the 
doctrine  of  his  influence  ?  Let  us  seek  the  answer 
where,  alone,  it  can  be  found,  in  the  word  of  God. 

What,  for  instance,  is  the  history  of  his  first  impart- 
ation  in  the  Christian  Church ;  No  sooner  had  the 
Saviour  ascended  his  mediatorial  throne,  than  the 
Spirit  came  down,  as  he  had  promised, — came  like  a 
rushing  mighty  wind,  filling  the  whole  house  where 
the  disciples  were  assembled,  filling  each  heart,  filling 
the  whole  church  ; — came  with  a  copiousness  and  power, 
as  if  his  influences  had  for  ages  been  pent  up,  and 
under  restraint,  and  now  rejoiced  in  being  able  to 
pour  themselves  out  over  the  Church  and    the  world. 

And  what  was  the  immediate  effect  of  that  event  ? 
Thousands  were  instantly  converted  ;  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit  seemed  newly  edged  wiih  power ;  and,  bathed 
in  the  lightnings  of  heaven,  smote  and  subdued  mul- 
titudes at  once. 

Was  the  sphere  of  his  agency  to  be  limited  to  any 
particular  country  or  province  ?  His  field  was  the 
world.  "He  shall  convince  the  world  of  sin."  What 
was  the  instrumentality  which  for  this  purpose  he  was 
to  employ  ?  What,  but  the  instrumentality  of  those 
to  whom  his  power  was  proniised,  and  on  whom  his 


94  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

influence  rested  ?  By  whose  feet  but  theirs  was  he 
to  carry  the  Gospel  "among  all  nations  ?"  By  whose 
lips  but  theirs  was  he  to  ''convince  the  world  of  sin?" 
By  wliose  hands  but  theirs  was  he  to  wield  that  weapon 
of  celestial  truth  which,  because  it  is  the  only  weapon 
he  employs,  is  called  the  very  "sword  of  the  Spirit." 

Hence  some  of  them  he  specially  selected  and 
appointed  to  particular  spheres  of  labour.  Many  of 
them  he  miraculously  endowed  for  the  office.  All  of 
them  found,  that  wherever  they  went  in  his  name,  he 
"caused  them  to  triumph." 

But  if  the  world  was  to  be  converted  by  their 
instrumentality,  would  he  not  require  and  incline  them 
all  to  tax  their  resources  to  the  utmost,  compatible 
with  other  incumbent  claims  ?  He  did  so.  One 
interest  prevailed.  One  subject  of  emulation  swal- 
lowed up  every  other; — who  should  approach  nearest 
to  the  likeness  of  Christ — who  should  do  most  for 
the  enlargement  of  his  reign.  "The  whole  multitude 
of  them  that  believed  were  of  one  heart,  and  of  one 
mind  ;"  the  spirit  of  Christ  animated  the  whole  commu- 
nity, and  every  particular  pulse  beat  in  concert  with  it. 

What,  then,  was  the  effect  of  his  agency  through 
the  instrumentality  of  the  Church?  The  Gospel  went 
flying  abroad  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  New  terri- 
tories, for  a  time,  were  daily  added  to  the  domains 
of  the  Church.  Her  converts  were  seen  flocking  to 
her  from  all  directions,  like  clouds  of  doves  to  their 
windows  ;  and,  among  ihe  wonders  of  that  period,  one 
was  to  see  some  of  her  bitterest  persecutors  become 
her  champions  and  her  martyrs. 

And  what  was  the  great  design  of  the  Spirit  in  all 
this  ?  How  remarkable  and  emphatic  the  language  of 
Christ  in  reply!  "He  shall  not  speak  of  himself." 
"He  shall  testify  of  me."  "He  shall  glorify  me." 
As  the  Saviour  came  to  glorify  the  Father  by  the 
demonstration  of  his  infinite  love,  so  the  Spirit  came 
to  glorify  Christ  by  exhibiting  and  carrying  that  de- 
monstration  home,   through  the   Church,    to  the  heart 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  95 

of  the  world.  But  what  must  be  His  estimate  of  the 
work  of  Christ,  that  he  should  thus,  in  a  sense,  be 
content  to  be  silent  concerning  himself,  in  order  that 
the  world  might  resound  with  nothing  but  the  claims 
of  Christ;  conceal  his  only  splendours,  that  the  eye 
of  the  world  might  rest,  undisturbed,  on  Christ  alone. 
And  who  can  compute  the  enormous  guilt  of  those 
by  whose  instrumentality  his  infinite  propensions  to 
exhibit  the  glory  of  Christ  might  be  carried  into  effect 
but  who  give  that  instrumentality  to  other  objects, 
and  thus  unutterably  ''grieve  the  Ploly  Spirit  of 
God?" 

Possibly,  however,  the  promise  of  the  Spirit  to  con- 
vert the  world,  it  may  be  said,  was  not  meant  for  all 
time,  but  only,  or  chiefly,  for  the  first  ages  of  the 
Church.  So  far  from  this,  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  the  great  promise  of  the  Christian  dispensation : 
"Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive."  The  law  of  the  dispen- 
sation on  the  subject,  is  this,  "every  one  that  asketb, 
receiveth" — a  law  which  establishes  the  certain  and 
permanent  connexion  between  asking  for  the  influence 
of  the  Spirit,  and  obtaining  it.  While  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  public  worship,  a  standing  ministry — all 
the  means  of  grace — what  are  these  but  the  great 
ordinances  of  the  dispensation,  appointed  as  so  many 
channels  to  receive  the  living  waters  of  prophetic  vision, 
and  to  convey  them  into  all  the  world.  And  the  great 
unfulfilled  prophecy  of  the  dispensation  is,  "I  will 
pour  out  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh."  Till  this  prediction 
is  fulfilled,  and  the  world  convinced  of  sin,  the  promise 
of  the  Spirit  to  accomplish  the  work  may  be  regarded 
as  repeated  to  every  believer,  through  every  hour  of 
time. 

Now,  as  the  fitness  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  be  the 
agent  of  Christ  consists  in  his  due  appreciation  of  the 
claims  of  Christ,  and  in  his  perfect  sympathy  with  the 
design  of  Christ  to  save  the  world,  so  the  fitness  of 
the  Church,  as  the  instrument  of  the  Spirit,  can  only 
consist  in  its  sympathy  w^ith  the   Spirit  in  converting 


96  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

the  world  and  glorifying  Christ.  Did  Christ  travail 
i[i  soul  for  the  redemption  of  the  world  ?  Then  the 
fitness  of  the  Spirit  as  his  representative  consists  in  an 
infinite  travail  of  compassion  for  the  application  of 
that  redemption;  and  never  till  "Zion  travails,"  for 
the  same  object,  can  she  expect  to  "bring  forth." 
Did  Christ  devote  the  entire  fulness  of  his  nature  to 
the  salvation  of  man  ?  Then  the  fitness  of  the  Spirit 
to  be  the  steward  of  all  that  fulness  of  grace,  consists 
in  his  readiness  to  administer  the  whole  to  the  perishing 
race;  and  never  till  the  Church  is  in  readiness,  by 
entire  devotedness,  to  convey  it  into  all  the  world,  is 
it  prepared  to  do  justice  to  the  office  and  agency  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  Did  Christ  appoint  the  Christian 
ministry,  and  the  various  means  of  grace,  as  the  chan- 
nels for  conveying  his  gospel  to  every  creature  ? 
Then  the  suitableness  of  the  Spirit  to  carry  out  this 
intention,  must  consist  in  his  readiness  to  replenish 
these  channels  with  heavenly  influences,  till  the  earth 
be  filled  with  the  glory  of  the  Lord ;  and  never  till 
the  Church  has  multiplied  these  channels  sufficiently 
to  realize  this  grand  consunmiation,  will  it  adequately 
sympathize  with  the  office  of  the  Spirit,  or  satisfy  his 
infinite  desire  for  the  glory  of  Christ. 

Hence  the  importance  of  each  believer  individually, 
and  of  the  Church  collectively,  being  "filled  with  the 
Spirit."  So  lofty  is  his  estimate  of  the  claims  of  Christ, 
and  so  perfect  his  sympathy  with  him  in  the  great 
object  of  the  world's  recovery,  that  he  requires  every 
member,  agency,  and  influence,  of  the  entire  Church 
to  unite  to  the  utmost  in  enforcing  the  one,  and 
realizing  the  other.  The  absence  of  a  single  means 
which  might  have  been  employed,  is  not  only  to  rob 
the  world  of  that  promised  influence  of  the  Spirit 
which  might  have  accompanied  its  presence, — it  is  to 
proclaim  to  the  unthinking  world  that  he  is  not  en- 
tirely devoted  to  the  glory  of  Christ,  and  thus  to  cast 
a  shade  of  grevious  dishonour  on  the  dispensation  of 
the  Spirit. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  97 

VI.  But  if  the  theory  of  Christian  influence  contained 
in  the  preceding  chapter  be  scriptural,  we  may  expect 
to  find  not  only  that  it  is  thus  in  harmony  with  other 
truths,  and  deducible  from  independent  doctrines,  but 
that  it  stands  out  on  the  inspired  page  with  all  the 
particularity  and  boldness  of  a  distinct  command^  and 
all  the  authority  of  Apostolic  practice.  Nor  are  we 
disappointed. 

The  mission  of  Christ  from  the  throne  of  heaven 
to  the  altar  of  the  Cross,  contains  in  it  the  spring  and 
principle  of  every  other  mission  from  that  Cross  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth.  By  dignifying  us  with  his  own  love, 
and  allying  himself  to  our  nature,  he  proposes  every  other 
human  being  as  a  magnificent  object  of  afi:ection  to  the 
whole  species.  By  requiring  us  to  forgive  even  our 
enemies,  he  would  have  it  impressed  on  us  that  we 
owe  to  every  man  a  debt  of  affection  which  is  never 
discharged.  By  sending  forth  the  seventy  to  proclaim 
the  kingdom  of  God  through  Judea,  he  taught  that 
the  piety  of  his  people  is  to  be  diffusive,  and  was 
training  his  Church  for  that  bolder  flight  which 
should  eventually  sweep  the  horizon  of  the  world. 
In  order  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of  Christian  beneficence 
to  the  utmost,  he  annihilates  the  ancient  distinction 
between  neighbour  and  enemy ;  teaches  us  to  regard 
every  man  as  our  neighbour  who  needs  our  aid ;  to 
look  on  our  field  as  the  world.  Taking  us  from  that 
small  circle  which  our  selfishness  prescribes  he  con- 
ducts us  to  a  mount  of  vision,  from  which  all  the 
territorial  lines  and  artificial  distinctions  of  society 
are  no  longer  visible,  and  where  the  living  landscape 
presents  us  with  the  view  of  one  vast  community  of 
immortal  beings,  claiming  the  same  distinguished 
origin,  involved  in  a  common  danger,  invited  to  one 
grand  deliverance,  and  passing  together  into  the  un- 
seen state.  By  teaching  us  there  to  pray,  "Thy 
kingdom  come,  thy  will  be  done  on  earth,  as  it  is 
done  in  heaven,"  he  would  open  before  us  the  pros- 
pect of  unbounded  progression  and  improvement — 
9 


98  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

inspirit  us  to  enter  on  a  career  of  emulation  with 
angels — to  despair  of  nothing,  to  hope  for  every  thing 
in  the  moral  advancement  of  the  world,  and  to  call  in 
at  every  step  the  almighty  agency  of  God.  By  simply 
commanding  us  to  do  unto  others  as  we  would  they 
should  do  unto  us,  he  lays  a  principle  of  relative  duty 
so  broad  and  deep  that,  if  rightly  built  on,  it  would 
sustain  a  pyramid  of  benevolent  and  heroic  deeds  whose 
tops  should  reach  unto  heaven  ;  and  by  leading  us  to  the 
throne  of  God,  and  teaching  us  to  pray  that  earth 
may  be  assimilated  to  heaven,  he  reminds  us  that  our 
means  of  doing  good  are  never  exhausted,  since  we  are 
empowered  at  every  step  to  touch  and  set  in  motion 
the  almighty  agency  of  God. 

But  if  the  glorious  object  of  this  prayer  is  to  be  real- 
ized— if  the  harvest  of  the  world  is  to  be  gathered  into 
the  garner  of  his  Church,  where  are  the  reapers? 
"  Pray  ye,  therefore,  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,"  saith 
he,  "that  he  would  send  forth  more  labourers  into  his 
harvest." 

But  not  only  will  reapers  be  necessary — so  vast  is 
the  sphere  of  labour,  that  agencies  of  every  kind  will 
find  scope  for  operation,  and  as  every  follower  of 
Christ  can  do  something,  not  to  do  it  would  evince 
indifference  to  his  claims,  and  would,  in  moral  effect, 
be  ranging  themselves  against  him.  "He,"  therefore, 
saith  Christ,  "that  is  not  with  me  is  against  me" — 
a  sentence  which  at  once  divides  mankind  into  two 
classes,  denouncing  the  absence  of  activity  in  any  of 
his  professed  followers,  and  ranking  it  with  positive 
hostility  against  him. 

For  the  same  reason,  however,  that  every  member 
of  his  Church  is  to  be  employed  in  his  service,  it 
follows,  of  course,  that  every  means  of  influence  which 
each  possesses  should  be  employed  also,  and  employed 
to  the  utmost.  Accordingly  he  not  only  startles  the 
indolent,  by  the  inquiry,  "  Why  stand  ye  here  all  the 
day  idle.-^"  and  by  the  command,  "Work  while  it  is 
day,  for  the  night  cometh  wherein  no  man  can  work;" 


ILLUOTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  99 

but  our  life  in  his  hands  is  converted  into  a  lamp 
which,  like  the  virgins  in  the  parable,  we  are  to  keep 
bright  and  burning ;  and  into  a  stewardship,  concern- 
ing every  item  of  which  we  are  to  render  him  finally  a 
faithful  account.  Our  "  every  word,"  our  *'  pound,"  our 
various  endowments,  whatever  they  may  be,  are  so  many 
talents  which  he  expects  us  to  multiply  by  constant  use. 
He  will  not  require  the  possessor  of  two  talents  to  account 
for  three,  but  neither  will  he  permit  him  to  account 
for  one  only.  The  very  fact  that  he  possesses  two, 
constitutes  his  call  and  his  obligation  to  employ  them ; 
nor  is  he  at  liberty  to  set  any  limits  to  his  endeavours 
short  of  those  which  his  means  and  opportunities 
prescribe.  And  as  Christian  influence  multiplies  itself 
by  use,  he  is  held  responsible  not  only  for  the  right 
employment  of  his  two  talents,  but  for  the  other  two, 
which  that  employment  would  have  added  to  them. 
To  deny  himself  for  Christ  is  his  daily  obhgation ; 
but  to  show  him  how  entirely  he  is  the  property  of 
Christ,  he  is  required  to  hold  life  itself  in  subordina- 
tion to  the  Christian  cause,  and  to  surrender  it  to 
martyrdom  whenever  the  welfare  of  that  cause  may 
require.  "He  that  loseth  his  life  for  my  sake  shall 
find  It.^' 

Having  made  it  imperative  on  every  individual 
disciple  to  consecrate  his  entire  influence,  from  the 
moment  of  his  conversion,  to  the  diffusion  of  the 
Gospel,  the  Saviour  made  it  equally  binding  on  them 
all  to  unite  for  the  same  object.  By  calling  them 
"brethren,"  he  would  remind  his  followers  that  they 
form  a  brotherhood.  Of  all  "the  sheep  which  should 
hear  his  voice,"  he  declared,  "there  shall  be  one  fold  and 
one  shepherd."  In  the  exercise  of  his  high  prerogative 
as  the  lawgiver  of  his  Church,  the  only  new  command 
which  he  issued  to  its  memlDers  was,  "that  ye  love 
one  another."  That  they  might  have  a  pattern  which 
should  move  as  well  as  teach,  he  proposes  to  them  his 
own  example,  by  adding,  "as  I  have  loved  you,  that 
ye   love  one  another."     To  bind  them   together  still 


100  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

more  effectually,  he  made  their  affection  to  each  other 
the  badge  of  their  discipleship  to  him  :  "By  this  shall 
all  men  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  have  love 
one  to  another."  And  as  if  to  render  the  obligation 
irresistible,  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  and  as  in  the 
very  presence  of  the  Cross,  entreated  "that  they  all  may 
be  one :  adding,  as  the  great  reason  of  the  whole, 
"that  the  world  may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me." 
At  this  practical  and  ultimate  design  of  their  unity  he 
had  glanced  indeed  at  the  commencement  of  his  public 
ministry;  describing  his  people  as  "the  salt  of  the 
earth,"  and  "the  light  of  the  world."  For  as,  in  the 
former  capacity,  they  are  to  suspend  by  their  holy  and 
combined  activity,  the  tendency  of  the  world  to  a  state 
of  general  dissolution,  so,  in  the  latter,  they  are  placed, 
to  catch  the  radiance  of  his  throne,  and  to  transmit  it 
to  a  world  immersed  in  the  shadow  of  death.  Not  only 
are  they  kindled  in  their  respective  orbhs  to  irradiate 
the  gloom  immediately  around,  but  as  a  Church  they 
are  to  unite  and  constitute  "the  light  of  the  world." 
And  thus,  from  his  opening  discourse  to  his  closing 
prayer,  he  constantly  kept  in  view  the  combination  of 
his  people  for  the  recovery  of  the  world. 

For  the  same  end  he  predicted  and  promised  the 
mission  of  the  Spirit.  So  candidly  and  explicitly 
had  he  described  the  trials  of  their  office,  that  such 
a  promise  was  necessary,  if  only  for  their  encourage- 
ment. Having,  therefore,  taken  them  to  an  eminence 
and  shown  them  the  vast  confederacy  of  evil  arrayed 
against  them,  he  reminded  them  that  they  were  to 
fight  in  fellowship  with  all  the  children  of  light — that 
more  than  angels  would  mingle  in  their  ranks — that 
the  Eternal  Spirit  himself,  arming  their  weakness  with 
his  might,  would  advance  with  them  to  the  work, 
and  convince  the  w^orld  of  sin. 

And  when  at  length  "the  hour  had  come,"  when 
the  Son  of  Man,  having  been  lifted  up  from  the 
earth,  proceeded  to  put  into  motion  the  instrumen- 
tality   which    he    had  arranged  for   drawing  all  men 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  101 

nnto  him,  as  if  he  had  been  silting  on  the  circle  of 
the  heavens,  and  surveying  all  the  possibilities  and 
events  that  could  occur  down  to  the  close  of  time,  he 
answers  the  objections  to  this  design  before  they  are 
uttered,  anticipates  wants  before  they  arise,  and  provides 
against  dangers  before  they  threaten.  Was  it  necessary,  ^ 
for  instance,  that  he  should  first  legislate  on  the  sub-  ;«^lP 
ject  ?  "Go,"  said  he,  and  he  was  standing  but  one 
step  from  the  throne  of  heaven — ''Go  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature." 
Still,  plain  as  this  command  might  at  first  appear, 
the  duty  which  it  enjoins  is  so  novel,  and  the  project 
which  it  contemplates  so  vast,  that  doubts  are  likely 
to  arise  as  to  its  import  and  obligation  ;  he  repeats  it 
therefore,  again  and  again, — repeals  it  in  other  forms, 
as  an  old  prediction  that  must  be  fulfilled,  and  as  a 
new  injunction:  "Then  opened  he  their  understand- 
ings, that  they  might  understand  the  Scriptures,  and 
said  unto  them,  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it  be- 
hoved Christ  to  suffer  and  to  rise  from  the  dead  the 
third  day,  and  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins 
should  be  preached  in  his  name  among  all  nations, 
beginning  at  Jerusalem.  And  ye  are  witnesses  of 
'these  things."  If  they  are  to  enter  on  their  oflice  at 
once,  peculiar  and  even  miraculous  qualifications  are 
necessary.  "  Ye  shall  receive  power  from  on  high," 
said  he,  "  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon 
you ;  and  ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me,  both  in 
Jerusalem  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth."  But  peculiar  dangers 
will  assail  them:  "All  power  is  mine,"  said  he;  "Go, 
and  you  shall  move  under  the  shield  of  Omnipotence  ;" 
"lo!  I  am  with  you  always,  even  to  the  end  of  the 
world."  Thus,  making  the  most  comprehensive  pro- 
vision, and  taking  the  whole  responsibility  of  success 
on  himself,  his  last  word  to  his  witnesses  was,  "Go" — 
his  last  act  was  to  bless  and  dismiss  them  to  their  work, 
— and  the  last  impression  lie  left  on  their  minds  was, 
9* 


102  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

that  they  held  in  trust  the  conveyance  of  his  Gospel 
to  all  mankind. 

And  as  this  was  the  last  indication  of  his  will  on 
earth,  we  know  how  his  first  act  in  heaven  corres- 
ponded with  it.  The  Eternal  Spirit  himself  came 
down — came  expressly  to  testify  of  Christ — came  to  be 
the  great  Missionary  Spirit  of  the  Church,  to  ''convince 
the  world  of  sin."  We  know  how  the  apostles  began 
at  Jerusalem,  when  three  thousand  souls  received  their 
testimony.  We  know  how  their  hesitation  to  quit 
Jerusalem  and  Judea  was  gradually  overcome — how  a 
Paul  was  added,  like  a  new  Missionary  element  infused 
into  their  spirit — and  we  can  conceive  how  they  must 
have  felt,  as  if,  in  the  terms  of  his  new  commission  to  be 
a  witness  to  the  Gentiles,  their  own  original  commission 
had  been  renewed  and  reinforced.  We  know  how  they 
were  divinely  allured  further  and  further  from  Jerusalem 
— how  vision  after  vision  drew  them  on  to  invade 
the  neighbouring  territories  of  idolatry — and  how,  at 
length,  when  even  a  Paul  evinced  a  reluctance  to  pass 
the  last  limit  of  Jewish  restriction — when  even  he 
scrupled  to  leave  the  confines  of  Asia,  a  vision  was  seen 
far  back  in  the  western  regions  of  idolatry — a  Mace- 
donian suppliant — the  emblem  of  Europe — saying, 
"Come  over  and  help  us."  Bursting  that  last  en- 
closure, the  outermost  circle  of  restriction  he  was 
not  disobedient  to  the  heavenly  vision  ;  and  the  Church 
found  itself  fully  committed  to  its  lofty  office  of  tra- 
versing the  world. 

And  now,  we  might  have  thought,  the  Saviour  has 
surely  made  it  sufficiently  apparent  that  his  people 
are  to  be  his  messengers  to  the  world.  Nothing  more 
can  be  necessary  to  show  that  this  great  object  enters 
into  the  very  design  and  principle  of  his  Church.  But 
not  so,  thought  the  Saviour  himself.  Once  more 
does  he  come  forth  and  reiterate  the  truth.  When 
we  might  have  supposed  that  his  voice  would  be  heard 
no  more — once  again  does  he  come  forth,   and  break 


ILLUSTRATED  FROBI  SCRIFrURE.  103 

the  silence  of  the  Church  ;  and  the  subject  on  which 
he  speaks  is  the  Missionary  character  of  that  Church. 
Not  that  it  had  lost  sight  of  its  office.  His  servants 
were  carrying  their  testimony  in  all  directions.  But 
as  if  the  angel  having  the  everlasting  Gospel  did  not 
yet  speed  on  his  way  fast  enough  to  satisfy  the  yearn- 
ings of  infinite  compassion,  or  as  if  he  feared  that  angel 
would  stop  ere  the  whole  earth,  the  last  creature,  had 
heard  the  Gospel  testimony — he  came  forth  personally 
and  announced,  "  The  Spirit  and  the  bride  say,  Come  ; 
and  let  him  that  hearelh  say,  Come  ;  and  let  him  that  is 
athirst  come  ;  and  whosoever  will,  let  him  come  and 
take  of  the  water  of  life  freely." 

Here  is  the  summing  up  of  all  his  arrangements 
and  commands  for  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel.  Having 
opened  the  fountain  of  eternal  life  in  the  midst  of  the 
desert  world — the  Spirit — the  Church — every  member 
of  that  Church — every  power  of  every  member,  even  if 
he  can  only  utter  the  exclamation,  Come,  are  all  to  be 
combined  and  devoted  to  the  grand  object  of  inviting 
the  perishing  world  to  partake.  Every  one  that  hears 
the  call  is  to  transmit  it  farther  still — there  is  no 
point  at  which  it  may  stop — a  chain  of  living  voices 
is  to  be  carried  round  the  globe  in  every  direction  till 
the  earth  grows  vocal  with  the  sound  of  the  Church 
inviting  men  to  Christ. 

Thus,  if  the  last  act  of  Christ  on  earth  was  to  make 
the  world  the  heirs  of  his  grace,  his  first  act  in  heaven 
proclaimed  that  he  required  all  the  benevolent  agency 
of  his  Church  to  be  put  into  full  activity  in  order  to  do 
justice  to  the  purposes  of  his  love  ;  and  as  this  is  his 
last  recorded  command,  the  postscript  of  the  Bible, 
he  would  have  it  impressed  on  the  mind  of  the  universal 
Church,  in  every  age,  with  all  the  freshness  and  force 
of  a  parting  injunction. 

Vn.  If  the  preceding  exposition  of  the  will  of  Christ 
concerning  the  Missionary  character  of  his  Church  be 
correct,  we  may   expect  to  find  a  further  illustration 


104  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

of  that  will  in  recorded  sentiments  and  '^  acts  of  the 
apostles''^  and  ^^ primitive  Churches.''^ 

Let  us  look  at  the  great  Missionary  of  the  Christian 
Church — the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  It  is  admitted 
indeed  that  he  had  been  specially  designated  to  the 
office ;  but,  by  this  circumstance,  he  is  so  far  from 
ceasing  to  be  an  example,  that  the  Head  of  the 
Church  may  be  regarded  as  saying,  "For  this  purpose, 
partly,  have  I  called  and  employed  him,  and  placed 
his  history  on  record,  that  my  people  may  possess 
in  him  a  model  of  the  Missionary  character  for  all 
succeeding  times."  It  is  admitted  also,  that  Christians 
generally,  and  even  Christian  ministers,  are  not  called 
to  the  literal  imitation  of  his  missionary  career.  At 
the  same  time  it  is  meant  that  they  should  more  than 
admire  it — that  they  should  imbibe  and  imitate  its 
entire  spirit.  The  same  principle  of  loyalty  to  Christ 
and  love  to  man,  they  must  possess ;  and  from  that 
same  principle  must  they  rise  superior  to  selfish  in- 
dulgence, and  be  able  to  appeal  to  their  self-sacrificing 
piety  that  for  them  "to  live  is  Christ." 

The  A  poslle  could  do  this  ;  and  it  was  the  sole  secret 
of  his  heroic  devotedness  and  missionary  enterprise. 
In  the  ear  of  the  selfish  and  the  worldly,  the  language 
doubtless  sounds  extravagant  and  absurd.  In  the  ear 
of  God,  and  indeed  of  every  enlightened  being,  it  is 
only  the  language  of  sobriety  aud  wisdom.  It  was 
dictated  by  no  mere  momentary  impulse  of  zeal — 
but  was  the  result  of  a  sober  calculation  frequently 
repeated,  and  of  enlightened  principle  gradually  ma- 
tured. There  was  a  time  when,  in  common  with  the 
world,  he  regarded  life  as  superlatively  valuable — but 
he  now  looked  on  it  as  comparatively  insignificant,  for 
he  had  found  an  object  of  unspeakably  greater  im- 
portance. Others  might  copy  the  example  of  their 
fellow  men,  but  he  had  risen  to  the  high  and  holy 
ambition  of  copying  the  example  of  incarnate  per- 
fection, of  God  manifest  in  the  flesh.  Others  might 
waste  their  precious  time  in  ease,  and  sloth,  and  worldly 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  105 

mdulgence  ;  but  he  aspired  to  enter  into  the  counsels 
of  heaven,  to  becon:ie  a  co-worker  together  with  God, 
and  instrumentally  to  mingle  in  the  operations  of 
almighty  love  in  renewing  and  blessing  a  world  of 
apostate  but  immortal  beings.  Others  might  content 
themselves  with  the  praise  of  men,  with  the  good 
opinion  of  creatures  perishing  like  themselves,  but  he 
aspired  to  the  high  distinction  of  pleasing  God — of 
being  received  and  welcomed  into  the  presence  of  the 
Supreme,  with  the  sentence,  "  Well  done,  good  and 
faithful  servant."  Others  might  be  satisfied  with  their 
own  personal  salvation — but  feeling  that  he  had  a 
Saviour  for  the  world,  he  panted  to  go  every  where, 
claiming  that  world  for  Christ — panted  to  ''  present 
every  man  perfect  in  Christ  Jesus" — ''  travailed  in  birth" 
for  the  regeneration  of  the  human  race. 

Hence  the  secret  of  his  self-denial,  "  I  am  made  all 
things  to  all  men,  if  by  any  means  I  might  save  some.''^ 
Hence  too  the  spring  of  his  Christian  zeal — "  if  by  any 
means  I  may  provoke  to  emulation  them  who  are  my 
flesh,  and  might  save  some  of  them.''''  This  was  the 
reason  of  his  prudence  and  vigilance — "  I  please  all  men 
in  all  things,  not  seeking  mine  own  profit,  but  the 
profit  of  many,  that  they  may  he  saved. ''^  And  hence 
too  his  joy  in  suffering — "  it  is  for  your  consolation  and 
salvation.''^  This  was  the  object  at  which  he  aimed, 
and  which  filled  the  whole  sphere  of  his  vision ;  com- 
paratively speaking,  he  saw  nothing  else.  Ease  might 
offer  him  indulgence;  wealth  might  display  her  bribes; 
pleasure  might  exhibit  her  charms  ;  but  these  had  lost 
their  power  to  tempt ;  to  him  they  had  become  objects 
of  supreme  indifference.  Persecution  might  bring  out 
and  spread  in  his  path  a  fearful  array  of  scourges,  and 
chains,  and  axes — all  the  instruments  and  apparatus 
of  torture  and  death.  But  he  looked  at  the  Cross, 
and  beholding  the  Son  of  God  suspended  there,  he 
armed  himself  *'  likewise  with  the  same  mind."  He 
looked  around ;  and  he  saw  the  assembled  Church  of 
Christ  urging  him  for  the  glory  of  the  Cross,  for  tho 


106  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

sake  of  perishing  humanity,  to  go  forwards.  He  hst- 
ened,  and  heard  the  whole  creation  groaning  to  be 
deHvered.  He  looked  above  ;  and  he  saw  '^a  great  cloud 
of  witnesses"  bending  with  intense  interest  from  their 
blessed  seats  ;  and  beyond  and  above  them  all,  he  saw 
the  throne  of  the  Lamb  and  him  that  sat  on  it — and 
in  his  hand  a  glorious  crown  of  life — and  he  saw  that 
it  was  extended  towards  him  ;  and  thus  sustained,  he 
could  point  to  all  the  instruments  of  torture  and  ex- 
claim, ''None  of  these  things  move  me,  neither  count 
I  my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  might  finish  my 
course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry  which  I  have  received 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  testify  of  the  gospel  of  the  grace 
of  God."  And  thus  impelled,  again  and  again  he  led  the 
van  of  the  army  of  the  Cross — stormed  the  very  strong- 
holds of  idolatry  and  sin — proclaimed  the  name  of  his 
Sovereign  Lord  "  where  Satan's  seat"  was — planted 
the  standard  of  the  Cross  in  the  very  citadel  of  the 
foe — till  his  progress  from  place  to  place  was  to  be 
traced,  not  indeed  by  blood — or  if  so,  by  no  blood 
but  his  own — for  he  was  covered  with  the  scars  of  the 
Christian  conflict  ;  but  with  the  fall  of  idol  temples, 
the  plantation  of  Christian  churches,  the  trophies  of 
ransomed  human  souls,  and  with  the  song  of  the 
Christian  warrior  exulting,  "  Now  thanks  be  unto  God, 
who  always  causeth  us  to  triumph  in  every  place." 
And  yet,  in  all  this  heroic  devotedness  and  self-con- 
suming zeal,  was  he  exceeding  his  obligations — doing 
anything  more  than  carrying  out  principles  to  their 
legitimate  application — living  to  Christ  ?  Did  he  ever 
utter  a  v/ord  which  implied  that  he  considered  himself 
an  exception  to  what  others  should  be  ?  that  no  one 
was  bound  to  be  so  zealous  for  Christ  as  he  was — that 
a  lower  standard  of  benevolence  was  sufficient  for 
them  ?  On  the  contrary,  how  humbly  did  he  account 
himself  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints — how  uniformly 
did  he  speak  of  himself  only  as  one  of  a  number 
constrained  and  borne  onwards  by  the  love  of  Christ 
— and  how  earnestly  did  he  say  to  all,  "  Be  ye  followers 
of  me,  even  as  I  also  am  of  Christ." 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  107 

VIII.  Now  if  such  be  an  exemplification  of  what,  in 
spirit  and  principle  at  least,  each  individual  convert 
should  be,  let  us  next  glance  at  the  illustration  of  that 
Missionary  spirit  and  principle  as  exhibited  in  the  conduct 
of  a  primitive  Church.  The  Church  at  Jerusalem  was 
denominational,  consisting  exclusively  of  converted 
Jews.  The  Church  at  Antioch,  including  as  it  did  all 
believers,  irrespective  of  their  nation,  was  the  first 
Calhohc  Christian  Church — "Now  there  were  in  the 
church  that  was  at  Antioch,  certain  prophets  and 
teachers ;  as  Barnabas,  and  Simeon  that  was  called 
Niger,  and  Lucius  of  Cyrene,  and  Manaen,  who  had 
been  brought  up  with  Herod  the  telrarch,  and  Saul. 
As  they  ministered  to  the  Lord,  and  fasted,  the  Holy 
Ghost  said.  Separate  me  Barnabas  and  Saulfor  the  work 
whereunto  I  have  called  them."*  Deeply  impressed 
with  their  individual  responsibility,  different  members 
of  the  Antiochian  church  had  already  made  certain 
unconnected  efforts  for  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel. 
Grateful  in  the  last  degree  for  their  own  salvation, 
and  encouraged  by  the  conversion  of  the  Roman  Cor- 
nelius, they  could  not  but  speak  of  the  things  which 
they  had  seen  and  heard — "  And  the  hand  of  the  Lord 
was  with  them,  and  a  great  number  believed  and  turned 
to  the  Lord."t 

But  the  time  had  now  arrived  when  they  were  to 
attempt  a  united  and  systematic  effort  for  the  same 
object.  It  was  not  likely  that  such  piety,  wisdom, 
and  zeal,  could  long  commune  together  without  making 
a  combined  movement.  One,  we  may  suppose,  would 
insist  on  the  evident  design  of  a  Christian  Church 
to  extend  the  Gospel  ;  another,  on  the  authoritative 
will  of  Christ ;  a  third,  on  the  depraved  condition  of  the 
heathen ;  and  a  fourth,  on  the  instances  in  which  they 
themselves  had  seen  the  Gospel  prove  "  the  power  of 
God  unto  salvation ;"  while  all  would  acknowledge  the 
importance  of  a  more  direct,  vigorous,   and  sustained 

*  Acts  xiii.  1,  2.  f  Acts  xi.  21. 


108  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

effort  than  had  yet  been  made  for  enlarging  the  king- 
dom of  Christ.  ''  But  who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?" 
Agents  must  be  selected — a  sphere  of  labour  appointed 
them — and  their  hands  sustained  by  the  prayers,  and, 
if  need  be,  by  the  contributions  of  the  disciples  re- 
maining at  home — for  this  is  to  be  a  mission  of  the 
Church.  Conscious  of  their  own  incompetence,  and 
anxious  to  take  no  step  which  God  has  not  encouraged, 
they  wait  together  before  him  by  prayer  and  fasting. 

''And  as  they  ministered  to  the  Lord  and  fasted, 
the  Holy  Ghost  said,  Separate  unto  me  Barnabas  and 
Saul  for  the  work  whereunto  I  have  called  them." 
Here  we  see  the  Church  whose  members  had  been  the 
most  zealous,  individually^  for  the  extension  of  the 
faith,  honoured  to  be  the  first  Missionary  society  for 
the  conversion  of  the  heathen.  While  from  the  Divine 
designation  of  the  two  most  distinguished  members  and 
ministers  of  that  Church  to  be  the  first  missionaries, 
we  learn,  that  Christians  will  never  evince  that  they 
estimate  the  missionary  office  as  God  does,  till  they 
select  for  it  the  choicest  instrumentality  which  the 
churches  contain. 

"  And  when  they  had  fasted  and  prayed,  and  laid 
their  hands  on  them,  they  sent  them  away."  Directed, 
probably,  to  their  particular  scene  of  labour,  by  the 
same  divine  authority  which  had  nominated  them  to 
the  work,  Barnabas  and  Paul  proceeded  to  Seleucia, 
the  nearest  port,  and  sailed  at  once  to  the  isle  of  Cyprus. 
Paul  had  already  gratified  the  instinctive  longing  of 
the  young  convert,  to  benefit  those  first  to  whom  he 
is  most  nearly  related,  by  preaching  the  Gospel  in  his 
native  Cilicia.  And  now  Barnabas  enjoys  the  same 
sacred  gratification,  by  preaching  salvation  in  his  native 
Cyprus.  Thus  it  is  that  the  Gospel  recognizes  all  the 
natural  and  social  relations  of  life,  and  teaches  us  that 
in  seeking  to  evangelize  a  distant  region,  we  are  not 
to  overlook  the  prior  claims  of  our  family,  neighbour- 
hood, and  native  land. 

Crossing  to  Peninsular   Asia,    Paul   and   Barnabas 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  109 

prosecuted  their  mission  by  traversing  Pamphylia, 
Pisidia,  and  Lycaonia,  till  they  touched  on  the  bor- 
ders of  Cilicia,  where  Paul  had  already  published  the 
Gospel.  In  this  way,  the  whole  of  the  intermediate 
country  between  their  two  native  places,  resounded  with 
the  preaching  of  Christ  crucified.  In  establishing  this 
chain  of  Christian  posts  from  point  to  point,  they  pro- 
posed to  make  it  the  base  of  a  future  Mission  into  the 
region  beyond.  And  here  we  find  the  Apostle,  on  a 
subsequent  occasion,  enlarging  the  sphere  of  his  labour 
by  preaching  in  the  remoter  regions  of  Phrygia,  Galatia, 
and  Mysia.  An  apt  illustration,  this,  of  the  expansive 
power  of  the  Gospel ;  of  the  manner  in  which  it  en- 
larges the  circle  of  its  beneficent  operation ;  and  in 
which  the  Christian  Church  should  ever  be  meditating 
further  conquests  for  Christ,  and  preparing  for  the  final 
occupation  of  the  entire  globe. 

Having  touched  the  boundary  of  Cilicia,  Paul  and 
Barnabas  retraced  their  steps,  revisited  the  Churches 
which  they  had  planted,  and  then  ''returned  to  Antioch, 
from  whence  they  had  been  recommended  to  the  grace 
of  God  for  the  work  which  they  fulfilled.  And  when 
they  were  come,  and  had  gathered  the  Church  together, 
they  rehearsed  all  that  God  had  done  with  them,  and 
how  he  had  opened  the  door  of  faith  unto  the  Gen- 
tiles."* Regarding  themselves  as  the  representatives 
of  the  Church  which  had  sent  them  forth,  and  still 
retaining  their  communion  with  it,  they  take  it  for 
granted  that  all  its  members  will  feel  the  liveliest  interest 
in  the  results  of  their  mission.  In  the  same  way 
should  every  thing  connected  with  the  progress  of  the 
Gospel  in  heathen  lands  now  thrill  through  the  heart 
of  the  Church  at  home,  and  be  regarded  as  a  subject 
of  deep  personal  interest  by  each  of  its  members. 

The  Church  at  Antioch  was  now  surrounded,  as  far 
as  its  position  would  permit,  with  the  wide  field  of  its 
Missionary  operations.     In  whatever  direction  it  might 

*  Acts  xiv.  26,  27.    , 
10 


110  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

look,  it  had  the  hallowed  satisfaction  of  beholding  the 
fruits  of  its  labour  stretch  away  to  a  remote  circum- 
ference— an  image  of  the  manner  in  which  every  par- 
ticular Church,  and  in  which  the  whole  collective 
Church  of  Christ,  should  sit  in  the  centre  of  a  widely- 
extended  Missionary  domain,  filled  to  the  verge  with 
the  influence  of  the  Cross,  and  thus  prepared  to  enlarge 
and  extend  its  circle  till  it  embraces  the  world. 

For  what  is  there  in  all  this  piety  and  zeal  which 
is  not  equally  obligatory  on  the  Churches  of  the  present 
day  ?  What  had  the  Lord  of  the  Church  done  for  the 
Christians  at  Antioch,  which  he  has  not  equalled,  and, 
in  some  providential  respects,  even  exceeded,  for  us  ? 
"Compassion  moved  them:"  but  is  heathenism  less 
depraving,  or  sin  less  destructive,  or  hell  less  fearful, 
now,  than  then  ?  "Zeal  for  the  glory  of  Christ  incited 
them;"  but  are  we  less  indebted  to  redeeming  love 
than  they  ?  we  do  not  hope  for  less  than  eternal  life, 
and  did  they  expect  more?  "The  Spirit  of  God 
impelled  and  directed  them  ;"  but  it  was  in  answer  to 
earnest,  united,  and  persevering  prayer — and  is  the 
throne  of  grace  less  accessible  to  us  than  it  was  to  them  ? 
or  the  promise  which  encouraged  them  to  repair  to  it 
repealed — "Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive?"  And  is  not 
the  same  Spirit  saying  to  every  Church,  by  the  voice 
of  Scripture,  and  the  movements  of  Providence,  as  dis- 
tinctly as  to  the  Church  at  Antioch,  "Separate  unto 
me  your  Paul  and  your  Barnabas  ?  Select  your  holiest, 
ablest,  men ;  cultivate  their  mind  and  piety  to  the 
utmost ;  and  set  them  apart  to  the  Missionary  office  ?" 
"A  Paul  and  a  Barnabas  were  among  them,  and  if  we 
could  command  such  agents — if  we  could  select  even 
an  Eliot  or  a  Swartz,  we  would  strain  every  effort  to 
send  them  forth ;  but  there  are  few,  or  none,  such 
among  us."  Yes,  there  are;  or,  if  not,  there  might 
be.  "Who,  then,  is  Paul,  and  who  is  Apollos,  but 
ministers  by  whom  ye  believed,  even  as  the  Lord  gave 
t-o  every  man  ?"  By  the  grace  of  God  they  were  what 
they  were ;  and,  by  the  same  grace,  their  distinguished 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  HI 

excellences  can  be  reproduced  and  repeated  in  every 
Church.  Only  let  not  Christians  expect  their  agents 
to  be  Apostles,  in  order  that  they  themselves  may  sit 
at  home  in  indolence ;  only  let  them  expect  that  their 
agents  will  be  their  representatives^  and  nothing  more — 
only  let  them[Iook  for  a  Barnabas  in  a  Church  worthy 
of  a  Barnabas,  and  look  for  him  by  earnest  and  united 
prayer  to  God, — and  they  will  find  the  Spirit  of  God 
raising  up  an  agency  as  suitable  for  the  present  day 
as  that  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  for  apostolic  days. 

IX.  If  we  now  proceed  to  examine  the  inspired 
epistles  to  the  Churches,  we  shall  find  that,  as  the  Mis- 
sionary character  of  the  Apostle  Paul  is  only  an  exem- 
plification of  what,  in  spirit  and  principle,  every  other 
Christian  should  be ;  so  the  Missionary  conduct  of  the 
Church  at  Antioch  is  only  a  model  for  all  other  Christian 
Churches. 

The  Churches  at  Ephesus  and  Colosse  are  exhorted 
to  be  fervent,  incessant,  and  united,  in  prayer  for  the 
wide  and  successful  propagation  of  the  Gospel.  For 
well  the  Apostle  knew  that  the  zeal  for  Christ,  which 
led  them  to  become  suppliants  for  that  object  at  the 
throne  of  grace,  would  lead  them,  while  there,  to  in- 
quire, "Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  us  to  doV — that, 
so  far  from  there  expiring,  it  would  there  rather  be 
fanned  and  fed,  and  rise  into  a  flame,  into  which  pro- 
perty, influence,  life  itself,  if  necessary,  would  be  offered 
up  as  an  oblation  to  his  glory. 

The  Philhppian  Christians  were  to  shine  as  lights, 
exalted  to  irradiate  the  surrounding  gloom,  ''holding 
out  the  word  of  life." 

To  the  Christians  at  Galatia,  the  apostolic  injunction 
is,  "As  ye  have  opportunity,  do  good  unto  all  men;" 
language  which  laid  under  tribute  every  moment  of 
their  time,  and  every  energy  of  their  renewed  nature, 
for  the  good  of  the  world. 

In  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  the  calling  and  con- 
version of  the  heathen  world  is  a  subject  of  constant 


112  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUBIENTALITY 

recurrence.  ''But  how  shall  they  call  on  him  in  vvhond 
they  have  not  believed  ?  and  how  shall  they  believe  in 
him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard  ?  and  how  shall  they 
hear  without  a  preacher  ?  and  how  shall  they  preach 
except  they  be  sent  ?"*  Leaving  it  to  be  inferred, 
that  if  the  proclamation  of  the  Gospel  be  necessary 
to  the  salvation  of  the  world,  the  greater  the  number 
of  heralds  employed,  the  greater  the  number  of  con- 
versions which,  by  the  agency  of  the  Spirit,  would 
iensue ;  and  consequently,  the  greater  the  obligation  of 
every  Christian  community  to  pray  the  Lord  of  the 
Church  to  raise  up  and  send  forth  from  among  them 
the  greatest  number  of  Missionaries  which  their  resources 
can  supply. 

The  members  of  the  Church  at  Thessalonica  "be- 
came ensamples  to  all  that  believe  in  Macedonia  and 
Achaia  :  for  from  them  sounded  out  the  word  of  the 
Lord."!  Not  only  was  the  report  of  their  conversion 
circulated  by  others  through  all  the  neighbouring  dis- 
tricts, but  they  themselves  followed  that  report  with 
as  loud  a  call  to  those  regions  as  they  could  raise,  to 
"turn  to  God  from  dumb  idols,  to  serve  the  living 
and  true  God." 

While,  to  the  church  at  Corinth  the  apostle  writes, 
"We  are  come  as  far  as  to  you  also  in  preaching 
the  Gospel  of  Christ,  ^  *  *  liaving  hope,  when 
your  faith  is  increased,  that  we  shall  be  enlarged  by 
yQ^^  *  *  *  abundantly,  to  preach  the  gospel  in 
the  regions  beyond  you."|  Already  had  he  hastened 
from  province  to  province,  "weeping  over  the  wreck 
of  immortal  souls,"  and  leaving  behind  him  wherever 
he  had  been  monuments  of  the  power  of  the  Gospel 
to  save.  But,  much  as  he  rejoiced  in  this,  the  vast 
circuit  which  he  had  already  filled  with  the  sound 
of  salvation  could  not  limit  his  desires   or  his  labours. 


*  Rom.  X.  13,  14.  t  1  Thess.  i.  7,  8. 

:j:  2  Cor.  x.  14 — 16.     See  an  excellent  discourse  on  this  text  in  the 
Works  of  the  Rev,  Richard  Watson,  vok  iii. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  113 

There  were  ''regions  beyond;"  regions  which  were 
still  immersed  in  the  shadow  of  death ;  and  the  weight 
of  their  misery  rested  on  his  soul.  If  he  reposed 
a  moment,  therefore,  it  was  only  to  gather  strength 
for  his  onward  course.  If  he  remained  a  short  time 
with  a  Church  already  formed,  it  was  only  that  their 
flame  might  supply  him  with  the  means  of  kindling 
another  light  in  the  distance.  If  he  rejoiced  in  his 
success  at  Corinth,  it  was  chiefly  as  it  enabled  him 
abundantly  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of  his  labours  in 
"the  regions  beyond."  He  takes  it  for  granted  that 
the  members  of  a  Church  have  "a  claim  to  the  ex- 
clusive enjoyment  of  the  Christian  ministry  only  until 
they  have  reached  a  certain  maturity  in  religious" 
attainments ;  but  that,  from  that  moment,  they  are 
equally  bound  with  himself  to  extend  the  knowledge 
of  Christ  into  "the  regions  beyond."  All  their  re- 
sources are  to  be  taxed  for  the  enlargement  of  his 
kingdom.  Circle  beyond  circle  of  benevolent  effort 
is  to  be  described  by  the  Christian  Church  till  the 
earth  is  encompassed  in  the  vast  embrace  of  mercy. 

And  has  the  Missionary  enterprise  diminished,  by 
the  lapse  of  time,  either  in  its  obligation  on  the 
Church,  or  in  its  magnificence  ^  St.  Paul  is  still 
exhorting,  "that  supplications,  prayers,  and  inter- 
cessions be  made  for  all  men ;"  and  declaring,  that 
"this  is  good  and  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God  cur 
Saviour,  who  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth."*  St.  James 
is  still  announcing  to  the  church,  "Let  him  know, 
that  he  who  converteth  the  sinner  from  the  error  of 
his  way," — let  him  ponder  the  mighty  truth — let  him 
pubHsh  it  through  the  Church  as  a  proclamation  from 
the  throne  of  God  to  inflame  the  zeal  of  others — 
"Let  him  know,  that  he  shall  save  a  soul  from  death. "f 
What  an  inducement  to  the  united  Church  to  attempt 
the  stupendous  object  of  saving  a  world  from  death ! 

*  1  Tim.  ii.  1,  3,  4.  f  James  v.  20. 

10* 


114  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

The  apostle  Peter  is  still  affirming  that  the  existence 
of  the  world  continues  because  God  is  "long-suffering 
to  us-ward,  not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but 
that  all  should  come  to  repentance."*  And  St.  John 
is  testifying  that  "the  Father  sent  the  Son  to  be 
the  Saviour  of  the  world  ;"f  and  leaving  us  to  draw 
the  startling  inference,  that  if  "he  who  seeth  his 
brother  have  need,  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels  of 
compassion  from  him,  is  a  murderer,"  the  Christian 
Church  can  wash  its  hands  from  the  crimson  guilt 
of  murdering  the  souls  of  the  heathen  only  by  making 
the  mightiest  effort  of  which  it  is  capable  for  their 
salvation. 

X.  But  if  it  be  true  that  this  theory  was  prefigured 
by  former  dispensations ;  that  it  was  substantially 
realized  in  the  person  of  Christ ;  that  it  is  called  for 
by  the  office  and  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  that  our 
Lord  prescribed  it,  and  that  his  primitive  Churches 
either  practically  exemplified  it,  or  were  authoritatively 
exhorted  to  do  so,  might  we  not  venture  to  suggest 
that  most  probably  a  scheme  so  wide  in  its  sweep,  is 
even  more  comprehensive  still  ?  Knowing,  as  we  do, 
that  God  acts  by  general  laws — laws  which  include 
in  their  range  worlds  as  well  as  atoms,  and  systems 
as  well  as  worlds — may  we  not  suggest  that  a  principle 
which  unites  and  lays  under  tribute  all  the  sanctified 
influences  of  earth,  adds  to  them  also  the  influences 
of  heaven  ?  Revelation  decides  that  this  is  the  fact ; 
that  as  there  is  but  one  object  in  the  universe  at 
which  to  aim,  so  there  is  but  one  plan  on  which  it 
is  pursued,  and  one  being  by  whom  it  is  conducted, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

From  the  moment — if  we  may  be  allowed  to  employ 
the  language  of  time  in  speaking  of  things  which 
acknowledge  no  date — from  the  moment  when  the 
Eternal   Father  determined   to  create,   and  to  exhibit 

*  2  Pet.  jii.  9.  t  1  John  iv.  14. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  115 

his  glory  and  impart  his  fulness  to  his  intelligent 
creation,  a  scheme  of  mediation  became  indispensable. 
The  Son  of  God,  as  the  only  adequate  representative 
of  his  person,  and  medium  of  his  fulness,  became 
indispensable  to  that  mediatorial  scheme.  And  from 
the  moment  he  began  to  fulfil  its  conditions,  and 
realize  its  designs,  he  became,  by  right  and  by  ap- 
pointment, the  centre  of  the  whole.  "  For  by  him 
were  all  things  created,  that  are  in  heaven,  and  that 
are  in  earth,  visible  and  invisible,  whether  they  be 
thrones,  or  dominions,  or  principalities,  or  powers : 
all  things  were  created  by  him,  and  for  him  :  and  he 
is  before  all  things,  and  by  him  all  things  consist. 
And  he  is  the  head  of  the  body,  the  Church  ;  who 
is  the  beginning,  the  first-born  from  the  dead :  that 
in  all  things  he  might  have  the  pre-eminence.  For 
it  pleased  the  Father  that  in  him  should  all  fulness 
dwell :  and  having  made  peace  through  the  blood  of 
his  cross,  by  him  to  reconcile  all  things  unto  himself; 
by  him,  I  say,  whether  they  be  things  in  earth  or 
things  in  heaven."  And  from  that  moment  he  acquired 
the  right  and  the  power  to  lay  all  the  agencies  and 
influences  of  this  vast  system  of  existences,  economies, 
and  constitutions,  as  it  revolved  around  him,  under 
tribute,  in  order  to  maintain  the  union,  dependency, 
and  order  of  all  its  parts  to  each  other,  and  of  the 
whole  to  himself.  To  withhold  this  tribute  in  the 
least  degree  is  to  derange  the  entire  plan.  Should 
such  derangement  occur  even  in  the  remotest  part  of 
the  system,  every  other  part  and  being  belonging  to 
it  would  sympathize  with  the  shock,  and  feel  himself 
personally  aggrieved.  Should  it  be  announced,  as  the 
supreme  will,  that  the  offending  party  be  reclaimed 
and  saved,  every  order  of  being,  every  rank,  each 
individual  would  feel  himself  bound  to  task  his  ener- 
gies to  the  utmost,  as  far  as  they  could  be  made 
available,  and  to  combine  them  with  all  the  rest,  in 
a  grand  endeavour  to  reclaim  and  restore  the  offender 
to  the   place   and   the  happiness   which   he   had   lost. 


116  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

Even  if  some  of  those  orders,  owing  to  the  difference 
of  their  nature,  should  not  be  able  to  minister  directly 
to  his  recovery,  they  would  lake  the  liveliest  interest 
in  every  stage  of  the  process,  and  never  rest  till  it 
was  brought  to  a  happy  conclusion  ;  while  every  being 
of  his  own  order  would  feel  himself  bound,  by  the 
particular  obligation  of  kindred,  as  well  as  by  the 
general  obligation  of  loyalty  to  Christ,  to  unite  in  an 
untiring  endeavour  for  his  recovery. 

Now  who  does  not  recognize  in  this  representation 
a  sketch  of  what  has  actually  taken  place  ?  Not  an 
individual  merely,  but  an  entire  race  has  broken  the 
law  which  bound  it  up  with  all  the  orders  in  the 
mediatorial  government  of  Christ.  The  integrity  of 
the  universe,  as  a  union  of  different  intelligent  orders 
under  one  head,  is  destroyed.  But  by  virtue  of  an 
eternal  purpose,  that  integrity  is  to  be  restored ;  they 
are  again  to  be  "gathered  together  in  one."  The 
disclosure  of  this  sublime  ''purpose  which  God  had 
purposed  in  himself,"  stirred  the  entire  universe  of 
holy  beings ;  and  for  its  execution  every  agency  it 
contains  is  not  only  put  into  motion,  but  into  actual 
requisition.  The  whole,  animated  and  united  by  this 
one  design,  move  towards  the  scene  of  revolt.  The 
Mediator  himself  descends  into  the  midst,  carrying 
with  him  the  intensest  sympathies,  if  not  also  the 
actual  presence,  of  all  the  beings  who  retain  their 
first  estate.  For  one  of  them  to  have  withheld  his 
sympathy,  or  to  have  evinced  that  less  than  his  entire 
nature  was  interested,  and  held  ready  for  the  occasion, 
would  have  been  to  inflict  the  shock  of  a  new  revolt, 
if  not  even  to  create  a  pause  in  the  onward  movement 
of  mercy.  But  "he  was  seen  of  angels."  In  the 
whole  of  his  progress  from  the  throne  to  the  cross 
they  may  be  said  to  have  formed  one  unbroken  and 
undeviating  procession.  He  advanced  to  Calvary  with 
all  the  lovers  of  mercy,  the  friends  of  man,  the  ser- 
vants of  God,  in  his  train.  In  the  sacrifice  which  he 
there  presented,  they  beheld  the  means  of  mediation 


y. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  117 

made  visible  to  the  universe,  and  complete  for  eternity. 
There  they  saw  the  doctrine^  of  which  they  had  ever 
been  enjoying  the  advantage  ;  and  the  fact  or  means, 
of  which  it  had  never  entered  into  their  minds  to 
conceive,  meet  and  become  one.  In  its  aspect  toward 
God,  as  a  fact,  they  saw  mercy  answering  the  claims 
of  justice  with  an  infinite  compensation ;  and  in  its 
aspect  towards  man,  as  a  doctrine,  they  saw  both 
unite  in  appealing  to  the  heart  of  the  world,  and 
establishing  an  infinite  claim  on  its  grateful  and  instant 
return. 

They  themselves,  indeed,  are  personally  benefited  in 
a  great  variety  of  ways,  by  the  advent  and  death  of 
Christ.  "  To  the  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly 
places  are  made  known  by  [means  of]  the  church  the 
manifold  wisdom  of  God."  But  on  account  of  its 
remedial  aspect  on  man  it  is  that  they  chiefly  prize  it. 
They  know  that  the  race  among  whom  the  altar  of 
atonement  is  erected,  is  the  race  whom  it  chiefly  con- 
cerns ;  and  their  perfect  sympathy  with  its  gracious 
intention,  makes  iheui  conscious  of  a  holy  impatience 
to  see  that  intention  fully  realized.  Reasons,  indeed, 
suflicient  to  prevent  their  repining,  forbid  them  from 
presenting  themselves  visibly  in  the  Church,  or  carrying 
the  Gospel  audibly  to  the  world ;  but  not  the  less 
ardently  do  they  burn  to  see  this  done  by  those  on 
whom  it  devolves.  Does  not  the  first  tear  of  the  peni- 
tent create  a  sensation  of  joy  through  all  their  adoring 
ranks  ?  As  if  to  show  the  identity  of  their  interests 
and  ours,  was  not  an  angel  employed  to  dictate  that 
last  portion  of  Scripture  which  discloses  the  vicissitudes 
of  the  Church  to  the  end  of  time?*  Have  they  not 
been  heard  rehearsing  for  the  day  when  they  will  have 
to  lead  the  anthem  of  the  blessed,  and  celebrate  the 
triumph  of  the  mediatorial  scheme  in  our  recovery  ? 
In  fine,  "are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits  sent  forth 
to  minister  to  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation  ?. "' 

*  Bev.  xxii.  16. 


118  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

and  when  the  success  of  the  Gospel  provokes  the  hos- 
tility of  the  world,  is  it  not  theirs  to  sound  the  trumpets 
and  to  discharge  the  vials  of  judgment  ?  and  are  not  all 
their  ministers  combined,  as  far  as  compatible  with  the 
laws  of  their  economy,  for  advancing  the  progress  of 
the  Gospel?*  and  would  they  not  denounce  the  highest 
intelligences  among  them  who  should  withhold  a  single 
ministration  which  was  due  to  this  object,  as  a  traitor 
to  the  cause  of  mercy  ?  And  if  it  is  ever  permitted 
them  to  ofter  a  petition,  must  it  not  be  one  which 
prays,  "thy  kingdom  come,  thy  will  be  done  on  earth 
as  it  is  in  heaven  ?" — one  which  shows  they  are  tra- 
vailing in  birth  for  the  conversion  of  the  world,  and 
panting  to  see  the  Church  on  earth  as  devoted  to  its 
office  as  the  Church  in  heaven,  and  both  co-operating 
together  for  this  great  consummation  ? 

Had  it  been  permitted  to  angels  to  occupy  the  place 
of  man  in  the  administration  of  the  Gospel,  would 
whole  regions  have  been  now  sitting  in  darkness  and 
in  the  shadow  of  death  ?  would  not  each  of  them  have 
resembled  him  who  was  seen  in  vision  flying  with  the 
everlasting  Gospel  through  the  midst  of  heaven  ?  Or 
were  they  now  to  be  permitted  by  God,  and  authorized 
by  the  Church,  to  prescribe  its  duties  and  to  dispose  of 
its  resources,  would  not  a  revolution  be  speedily  effected 
in  its  state  which  would  say  to  numbers  who  are  now 
slumbering  at  home,  ''Go,  stand,  and  speak  unto  the 
people  [in  the  distant  temples  of  idolatry]  all  the  words 
of  this  life  ;"  and  which  would  put  them  in  possession 
of  the  means  of  going  ?  Or  were  it  permitted  them 
even  to  address  us  on  the  subject,  what  could  the 
import  of  their  language  be,  but  an  urgent  exhortation 
to  diffuse  the  knowledge  of  that  mediation  by  which 
they  and  we  are  made  one?  "Brethren  in  Christ" 
they  would  say — for  in  him  "the  whole  family  in 
heaven  and  earth  is  named" — "you  have  been  brought 
back  into  order  and  harmony  with  the  universe,  how 

*  Acts  V.  2Q.    Kev.  xiv.  16. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  119 

can  you  live  for  any  other  object  than  that  of  aiming  to 
add  others  to  your  number  ?  When  we  saw  you  re- 
stored to  the  circle  from  which  you  had  been  lost, 
we  exulted  in  the  event  ;  for  not  only  did  we  behold 
you,  by  anticipation,  occupying  your  appointed  place  in 
heaven,  we  saw  your  appointed  place  in  the  Church  on 
earth — saw  that  you  were  called  to  occupy  it  as  agents 
for  Christ,  and  knew  the  happy  consequences  which 
would  ensue  from  your  required  devotedness  to  its 
duties.  Not  more  certainly  is  the  throne  of  every 
believer  prepared  in  heaven,  than  his  appropriate  place 
is  prescribed  on  earth.  In  the  system  to  which  you 
now  belong,  every  being,  from  the  loftiest  archangel 
to  the  lowliest  saint,  has  his  course  assigned,  and  every 
holy  act  its  appointed  effect.  You  'have  come  to  an 
innumerable  company  of  angels.'  But  the  only  object 
in  which  you  and  we  can  practically  sympathize  and 
unite  is  in  the  enlargement  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ, 
and  the  celebration  of  his  glory.  In  every  thing  which 
relates  to  this,  so  truly  are  we  one,  that  never  can  you 
put  forth  the  least  effort  for  its  furtherance,  but  the  act 
thrills  through  all  our  principalities  and  powers,  and 
carries  with  it  all  our  sympathies.  So  distinctly  do  we 
see  the  design  of  Christ  in  calling  you  to  occupy  a 
place  among  the  agents  of  his  mediation  ;  so  evident  is 
the  adaptation  of  his  Church  to  collect  all  such  agencies 
as  they  arise,  and  to  combine  them  with  those  already 
in  operation  ;  and  so  evident  the  certainty  with  which 
the  w^iole  is  calculated  instrumentally  to  repair  the 
effects  of  sin  and  restore  the  harmony  of  the  universe, 
that  we  beseech  you,  by  the  new  fellowship  to  which 
you  are  admitted,  and  by  our  gathering  together  in 
him,  that  you  do  the  will  of  God  on  earth  as  unitedly 
and  devoutly  as  we  your  co-workers  are  doing  it  in 
heaven.  From  the  higher  ground  we  occupy,  we  can 
survey  the  fearful  consequences  of  your  neglect  in  all 
their  aspects,  bearings,  and  dimensions — the  glory  lost 
to  God,  the  happiness  lost  to  yourselves  and  to  us,  and 
the  immortal  spirits  which  you  are  allowing  to  pass  into 


v/f 


120  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

misery  in  unbroken  procession  unwarned  and  unsaved, 
— consequences  so  fearful,  that,  were  the  exchange  per- 
mitted, gladly  would  we  resign  our  heavenly  places  to 
you  that  we  might  discharge  your  trust,  wield  your 
influence,  and  win  the  honours  which  are  offered  to  you 
in  drawing  men  to  Christ.  So  eager  are  we  to  behold 
the  completion  of  the  mediatorial  scheme,  as  it  relates 
to  the  recovery  of  man — to  gaze  on  the  only  Begotten 
of  the  Father  on  the  throne  of  the  universe,  encircled 
by  the  thrones  and  dominions,  principalities,  and  powers 
of  heaven,  and  by  the  number  which  no  one  can  num- 
ber save  from  the  earth — all  radiant  with  his  glory, 
living  in  his  smiles,  and  joined  in  his  praise — and  so 
fully  are  we  possessed  with  the  conviction  that  the 
entire  consecration  and  union  of  all  your  sanctified  in- 
strumentality are  essential  to  bring  it  to  pass,  that  we 
adjure  you,  by  the  glory  which  shall  then  be  revealed, 
that  you  Mienceforth  live,  not  unto  yourselves,  but 
unto  him  who  died  for  you  and  rose  again.'  All  in 
heaven  is  ready  for  the  great  consummation, — each 
angel,  as  an  agent  of  providence,  is  at  his  post — each 
vial  of  judgment  waits  to  be  discharged  on  your  foes. 
He  in  whom  we  both  are  one  is  on  his  throne,  'from 
henceforth  expecting'  the  glorious  issue.  What  other 
mediatorial  wonders  may  await  the  disclosures  of  eternity 
we  know  not — but  as  if  the  restoration  of  man  were 
only  the  first  in  a  series  of  wonders — as  if  infinite  plans 
were  held  in  abeyance — the  happiness  of  unknown 
worlds  were  kept  in  suspense  till  this  be  complete, 
unite  all  your  influence  in  a  great  endeavour  to  make 
good  our  announcement  at  the  advent  of  Christ,  '  Glory 
to  God  in  the  highest,  on  earth  peace  and  good-will 
towards  man.'" 

Now  this,  in  effect,  is  the  language  in  which  the 
hierarchy  of  heaven  may  be  regarded  as  perpetually 
stimulating  the  apathy,  and  urging  the  efforts,  of  the 
redeemed  on  earth.  To  the  eye  of  faith  they  stand 
revealed,  and  are  ever  present  as  a  great  cloud  of  wit- 
nesses.    Never  are  they  absent  from  our  midst,  either 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  121 

actually  mingling  their  agencies  with  ours,  or  through 
the  medium  of  our  faith  shedding  a  practical  influence 
on  our  conduct :  and  thus,  in  the  mediatorial  economy, 
all  the  sanctified  influences  of  heaven  and  earth  are 
combined  in  the  prosecution  of  its  saving  design.  The 
chain  of  relationship  and  mutual  influence  passes  not 
only  from  hand  to  hand  through  the  church  militant, 
but  through  "all  the  family  in  heaven  and  earth,"  hold- 
ing the  entire  community  in  union  for  the  good  of  the 
world. 

XI.  But,  further,  this  economy  not  only  unites  all  the 
diversified  influences  which  it  includes  into  one  agency, 
it  also  combines  all  their  accumulations  from  age  to 
age,  and  seeks  to  devolve  the  whole  entire  on  each 
successive  generation  in  the  Church ;  so  that  we  of  the 
present  day  are  living  under  the  collected  influences 
of  all  the  past,  and  moving  under  an  impulsive  power 
greater  than  that  of  any  preceding  age. 

The  analogy  of  this  truth  indeed  runs  through  all 
nature  ;*  and  the  moral  influence  of  national  history 
furnishes  perhaps  its  best  illustration.  A  people  rich 
in  the  wealth  of  ancestral  worth  possess  strong  incen- 
tives perpetually  urging  them  to  noble  deeds.  To  this 
cause  much  of  Roman  greatness  is  ascribed.  "  The 
Roman  citizens  adorned  the  vestibules  of  their  dwellings 
with  the  images  of  their  ancestors  ;  so  that  the  faces  of 
the  patriot,  the  warrior,  and  the  philosopher,  were  ever 
present,  to  remind  them  of  their  exploits,  and  to  stimu- 
late them  to  imitation.  The  design  was  crowned  with 
success.  The  virtue  of  one  generation  was  transferred 
by  the  magic  of  example  into  several;  and  heroism 
was  propagated  through  the  commonwealth."  "  Among 
no  other  nation"  says  Schlegel,  in  his  Philosophy  of 
History,  "did  historical  recollections  even  of  the  re- 
motest antiquity  exert  such  a  powerful  influence  on 
life,  or  strike  so  deep  a  root  in  the  minds  of  men." 

*  See  Bishop  Butler's  Analogy,  Pt.  ii.  chap.  4. 
11 


122  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

But,  surely,  (if  it  be  allowed  to  bring  sacred  history  into 
the  comparison,)  the  Jewish  nation  must  be  regarded  as 
forming  a  grand  exception.  According  to  apostolic 
authority,  the  "advantage  of  the  Jew  was  much  every 
way,  but,  chiefly,  that  unto  them  were  committed  the 
oracles  of  God."  That  which  distinguished  them  far 
above  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  was  that  from  the 
time  of  their  settlement  in  Judea,  they  lived  and  moved 
under  the  direct  influence  of  their  miraculous  history. 
While  one  design  of  the  temple  appears  to  have  been, 
that  by  making  it  the  shrine  of  their  most  ancient  and 
sacred  relics,  and  the  visible  abode  of  religion,  that 
influence  might  constantly  act  on  them  with  ever  aug- 
mented force.  If  it  be  true  that  the  man  is  little  to  be 
envied  who  could  walk  "■  indifferent  and  unmoved  over 
any  ground  which  has  been  dignified  by  wisdom, 
bravery,  and  virtue — whose  patriotism  would  not  gain 
force  upon  the  plain  of  Marathon,  or  whose  piety  would 
not  grow  warmer  among  the  ruins  of  lona — that  to 
abstract  the  mind  from  local  emotion  would  be  im- 
possible if  it  were  endeavoured,  and  would  be  foolish 
if  it  were  possible,"  how  deep  and  lasting  the  im- 
pression calculated  to  be  produced  on  a  people  who  had 
to  walk  daily  amidst  the  solemn  and  gorgeous  magni- 
ficence of  an  ancient  economy  adjusted  and  adorned  by 
the  immediate  hand  of  Deity.  As  if  inhabiting  the 
sacred  enclosure  of  the  temple  itself,  they  were  ad- 
dressed perpetually  by  solemn  voices  from  the  past,  and 
called  on  from  every  side  by  influences  accumulated 
from  the  creation  of  the  world.  So  deep  was  the  effect 
produced  on  them — though,  alas,  a  perverted  one — that 
ages  on  ages  of  suffering  have  not  been  able  to  efface 
nor  hardly  to  impair  it. 

Now  all  the  wealth  of  moral  influence  which  be- 
longed to  that  dispensation,  has  been  poured  into  the 
treasury  of  the  Christian  Church.  We  "have  come 
unto  Mount  Sion."  It  is  not  lost,  but  transferred, 
accumulated,  and  put  into  wide  circulation.  True,  the 
temple  is  gone — its  most  sacred  things  have  disappeared 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  123 

— the  economy  itself  is  abolished — the  very  nation 
scattered  to  the  winds  of  heaven — but  all  its  proper  and 
mighty  influence  still  exists.  Nothing  that  belonged 
to  it  existed  for  itself.  Every  judgment  that  made  it 
awful  looked  on  beyond  its  own  time  and  is  frowning 
still.  "  All  these  things  happened  unto  them  for  en- 
samples  :  and  they  are  written  for  our  admonition,  upon 
whom  the  ends  of  the  world  are  come."  Each  of  its 
prophets  spoke  less  for  his  own  time  than  for  ours ; 
so  that  for  us  he  is  prophecy ing  still — "not  unto  them- 
selves but  unto  us  they  did  minister  the  things  which 
are  nov/  reported  unto  you  by  them  that  have  preached 
the  Gospel  unto  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down 
from  heaven  ;  which  things  the  angel*  desire  to  look 
into."  Every  event  which  distinguished  it  is  still  in 
actual  operation,  diffusing  the  elements  of  other  events, 
and  propagating  hs  influence  somewhere.  And  where 
shall  we  look  for  that  influence,  but  within  the  limits  of 
the  Christian  Church  ^  The  Bible  is  the  true  conductor 
of  all  the  holy  influences  the  world  has  contained  since 
the  dawn  of  creation.  From  it  the  Jewish  Church  re- 
ceived in  a  concentrated  form  all  that  had  distinguished 
the  preceding  economies,  from  the  giving  of  the  first 
promise,  to  its  own  establishment  in  Judea.  Not  even 
the  holiest  of  all  its  members  would  have  been  what  he 
was,  had  Enoch  never  "walked  with  God,"  or  had  the 
Bible  omitted  to  record  the  fact.  In  that  Church, 
therefore,  it  may  be  truly  said,  Abel,  though  dead,  was 
ever  speaking;  and  "Enoch,  the  seventh  from  Adam," 
was  ever  prophesying  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord. 
There,  the  patriarchs  came  and  hved  again  for  their 
posterity.  There,  the  rod  of  Aaron  was  ever  bloom- 
ing ;  the  manna  ever  fresh  ;*  the  rod  of  Moses  ever 
working  and  repeating  its  wonders.  There  Sinai  reared 
its  awful  head,  and  from  its  thundering  top  the  law  was 
ever  demanding  for  God  the  heart  of  the  world,  and 
demanding  from  every  man  the  love  of  all  the  rest. 

*  Heb.  ix.  4. 


124  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

In  the  same  sense  the  Bible  has  now  discharged  all 
the  accumulated  moral  influences  of  the  last  economy 
into  the  present.  The  Cross  has  received  and  trans- 
mitted the  whole.  Here,  in  effect,  the  temple  of  Jeru- 
salem still  stands.  Though  in  a  literal  respect  not  one 
stone  of  that  sacred  pile  remains  upon  another,  in  the 
hallowed  influence  which  it  sheds  over  the  Church 
of  God  it  still  lifts  up  its  awful  front — its  fires  still 
burn — its  victims  still  bleed — its  day  of  atonement  still 
returns — its  sanctity  is  still  calling  on  the  Church  for 
its  entire  consecration.  We  behold  these  objects  now 
— we  shall  see  them  in  eternity.  All  the  great  events 
and  solemn  transactions  of  the  Old  Testament  may  be 
regarded  as  having  taken  place  in  the  Christian  Church. 
Here,  in  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  they  do  come  and 
occur  again.  Here  its  miracles  are  still  convincing ; 
and  its  angelic  messengers  still  appearing.  Here  Moses 
is  still  teaching  self-renunciation,  by  wishing  himself 
"blotted  out  from  the  book  of  hfe''  for  the  good  of 
others ;  and  David  leading  the  intercessions  of  the 
Church  for  the  salvation  of  the  ends  of  the  earth ;  and 
the  prophets  still  "testifying  of  the  sufterings  of 
Christ  and  the  glory  that  should  follow." 

And,  what  is  more,  here  they  are  all  present  at 
once.  Truths  and  events  which  for  the  Jewish  Church 
were  scattered  thinly  over  a  long  tract  of  time,  are 
here  collected  to  a  point  and  made  operative  at  once. 
Ages,  with  the  men  who  made  them  memorable — and 
dispensations,  with  all  the  miraculous  facts  and  sublime 
disclosures  which  distinguished  them,  pass  in  quick 
and  close  succession  before  our  eyes ;  and  we  feel 
ourselves  standing  under  the  eye  and  influence  of  the 
whole. 

And,  more  even  than  this,  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  great  as  was  the  influence  which  that  economy 
was  calculated  to  exercise  during  its  actual  existence, 
that  influence  has  gone  on  gathering  strength  with  each 
successive  age,  and  is  incalculably  mightier  at  this 
moment  for  us  than  for  those  who  lived  in  its  imme- 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  125 

diate  presence.  Not  only  do  all  its  parts  act  on  us  at 
once,  they  act  on  us  also  in  their  highest  and  noblest 
form.  For  us  it  is  all  meaning  and  spirit,  emancipated 
principle,  and  active  power.  Liberated  from  its  former 
restraints,  brought  into  the  light  of  a  more  spiritual 
economy,  and  allowed  free  scope  in  the  ampler  sphere 
of  the  Christian  Church,  its  power  is  greater  now  than 
during  its  actual  reign  on  Zion.  As  it  was  typical, 
it  was  temporary — formed  for,  and  acting  upon,  ''the 
time  then  present;"  but  as  it  embodied  evangelical  and 
immortal  principles,  it  was  far  in  advance  of  its  time^ 
and  destined  to  act  chiefly  on  the  future.  Who  will 
not  admit  that  the  character  of  the  Psalmist,  for  in- 
stance, is  exercising  much  greater  moral  power  now 
than  when  he  was  alive  ?  Who  does  not  feel  that  his 
prayers  for  the  universal  diffusion  of  the  truth, 
and  the  splendid  visions  of  prophecy  in  which  those 
aspirations  were  seen  realized,  have  not  yet  attained 
their  proper  place  of  power  ? — that  they  have  all  along 
been  struggling  to  reach  it — that  they  are  only  as  yet 
beginning  to  produce  their  legitimate  effect — and  that 
with  every  successive  year  that  effect,  under  God,  is 
likely  to  increase  ?  What  manner  of  persons  ought  we 
to  be  to  whom  all  this  rich  inheritance  has  descended  ! 

But  together  with  all  this  influence  from  the  former 
economy,  there  blends  a  mightier  influence  peculiar  to 
the  present,  a  power  so  irresistible,  that  wherever  it 
has  had  "free  course,"  it  has  swept  away  the  thrones 
of  idolatry,  changed  the  aspect  of  society,  and  left  its 
impress  on  every  object  it  has  touched.  Ours  is  the 
Cross — the  great  power  of  God — not  only  absorbing 
and  concentrating  all  the  influences  of  the  past,  but 
charged  with  a  new  power  direct  from  God — containing 
in  its  bosom  all  the  springs  of  benevolence  the  world 
will  ever  know ;  an  energy  of  expansive  goodness 
capable  of  replenishing  the  universe  W'ith  light  and 
love.  Here  God  is  seen  enriching  the  world  with  a 
gift  which  leaves  it  nothing  to  dread,  or  to  ask  for 
more.  Here  Christ  is  seen  taking  the  world  to  his 
11* 


126  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALnr 

heart — seizing  our  nature  as  it  trembles  over  the  bot- 
tomless gulf — assuming  it  into  union  with  his  own — 
taking  our  place  under  the  descending  stroke  of  Justice, 
and  suffering  in  our  stead.  Before  our  eyes  "Jesus 
Christ  is  here  evidently  set  forth  crucified  amongst  us." 
Here  the  Infinite  Spirit  himself,  descends  from  the 
heights  of  his  everlasting  dwelling-place,  as  a  rushing 
mighty  wind — and  the  cries  of  penitence  are  heard 
around.  Here  angels,  drawn  from  heaven,  bend  to 
gaze,  and  labour  to  comprehend  the  mystery  of  in- 
carnate love.  Apostles  come  to  lose  themselves  in 
wonder,  and  exclaim  ''  herein  is  love  :"  and  to  surcharge 
their  hearts  with  a  benevolence  which  impels  them  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth  testifying  that  ''the  Father  hath 
sent  the  Son  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world."  Here 
the  bigotry  of  the  Synagogue,  the  doubts  of  the 
Academy,  and  the  pride  of  the  Portico,  are  seen 
kneeling  around,  and  humbled  in  the  dust.  And  here 
he  who  was  the  fit  representative  of  them  all,  comes 
to  smite  on  his  breast  and  say,  "God  forbid  that  I 
should  henceforth  glory  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ" — and  hastens  away  to  fill  the  nations 
with  the  report  of  its  glories,  and  to  call  on  all  who 
believed  it  to  help  him  onwards  to  the  regions  beyond. 

If  the  influence  of  promises  comparatively  vague  in 
their  meaning,  and  indefinitely  distant  in  their  fulfil- 
ment, could  produce,  under  God,  the  martyr-piety  of 
Abel — the  dauntless  fidelity  of  Enoch — the  persevering 
obedience  of  Noah — the  Missionary  pilgrimage  of 
Abraham — and  the  self-sacrificing  zeal  of  Moses ;  if 
the  comparatively  feeble  influences  of  the  Jewish  dis- 
pensation could  create,  under  God,  those  splendid 
constellations  of  excellence  which  glow  and  burn  in 
the  eleventh  chapter  to  the  Hebrews,  who  shall  set 
limits  to  that  moral  greatness  and  Christian  devoted- 
ness  which  the  mightier  influences  of  the  Gospel  should 
produce  ^  To  know  that,  in  practical  effect,  a  whole 
economy  has  existed  for  us,  that  is,  for  the  Church 
of  which  we  are  members — that  for  us  its  heroes  lived, 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  127 

and  its  martyrs  died — to  know  that  for  us  that  economy 
of  a  thousand  years  was  at  last  dismissed,  as  for  us 
it  had  at  first  been  called  into  being,  leaving  to  us  all 
its  rich  accumulations  of  inspired  wisdom,  godhke 
example,  and  moral  weahh, — this,  alone,  should  surely 
be  sufficient  to  teach  us  the  greatness  of  living  for  the 
future,  and  to  kindle  in  our  hearts  the  unquenchable 
desire  of  transmitting  the  great  inheritance  to  those 
who  succeed  us,  not  merely  unimpaired,  but  augmented 
by  the  influence  of  our  own  devotedness. 

But  to  know  that  that  which  displaced  that  economy 
was  the  personal  advent,  the  visible  humiliation,  the 
actual  sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God — that  the  eternal 
Father  should  have  so  loved  us  as  to  give  from  his 
bosom  "the  express  image  of  his  person" — should 
surely  come  on  us  with  an  effect  which  should  leave 
us  no  power  but  that  of  obedience — no  wish  but  that 
of  multiplying  our  means  of  serving  him  a  thousand- 
fold. "Pie  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered 
him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him  also," 
asks  the  Apostle,  "freely  give  us  all  things?"  Might 
he  not,  with  equal  conclusiveness,  have  inquired,  how 
shall  we  not  for  him  also  freely  give  him  all  things  ? 
Before  that  gift  could  have  been  bestowed,  the  ocean 
of  the  Divine  benevolence  must  have  been  stirred  in 
all  its  unfathomable  depths  ;  should  the  shallow  stream 
of  our  gratitude  be  only  rippled  on  the  surface  ?  Of 
all  his  infinite  resources,  he  freely  gave  the  sum  ;  of  the 
mite-hke  penury  of  our  nature,  shall  we  return  him 
only  a  part  ?  To  know  that  he  who  was  rich  should 
for  our  sakes  have  become  poor — that  the  second  per- 
son in  the  mysterious  Godhead  should  have  personally 
descended  to  our  rescue — descended  from  one  depth  of 
humiliation  to  another,  till  a  cross  arrested  his  further 
descent,  and  made  it  impossible  for  divine  condescension 
itself  to  stoop  lower, — this  is  knowledge  which,  as  it 
has  moved  all  heaven,  should  surely  be  sufficient  to 
move  and  agitate  all  earth.  To  hear  that  event  suc- 
ceeded by  the  sounds  and  signs  of  another  advent — the 


128  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

advent  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  the  converter  and  sanc- 
tifier  of  human  souls — to  find  that  thus  each  of  the 
three  persons  in  the  awful  and  mysterious  Godhead  is 
infinitely  interested  in  our  recovery — that  there  has 
actually  been  disclosed,  in  consequence,  a  new  bond 
of  their  ineffable  union  in  the  fact  of  their  co-operation 
for  that  recovery, — and  that  so  intently  is  the  com- 
passion of  the  Triune  God  set  on  the  object,  that  no 
truth  is  left  untaught,  no  miracle  of  mercy  unperformed, 
no  angel  or  agency  unemployed,  no  part  of  the  universe 
unmoved,  no  perfection  of  the  Divine  nature  uncon- 
cerned, no  aspect  of  the  Divine  character  unexhibited, 
which  is  in  the  least  essential  to  its  accomplishment — 
surely  this  should  leave  no  portion  of  the  Church  at 
rest,  no  means  within  its  farthest  reach  untaxed  for 
the  attainment  of  the  same  end. 

To  find  that  this  is  clearly  the  Divine  design — that 
Christ,  as  the  Head  of  the  Church  on  earth,  autho- 
ritatively requires  that  each  individual  Christian  sur- 
render himself,  and  live  supremely  for  the  conversion 
of  others ;  that  these  unite  into  particular  societies  for 
the  conversion  of  greater  numbers  still :  that  all  these 
societies  in  every  land  combine  in  sympathy  and  pur- 
pose for  the  salvation  of  the  entire  race  ; — to  find  that 
as  the  President  of  the  Universe  having  "all  power 
in  heaven  and  on  earth,"  he  commands  and  combines 
the  sympathies  and  instrumentality  of  the  Church  in 
Heaven  with  that  of  the  Church  on  earth — assigning 
10  angels  the  time  and  the  place  for  their  agency  in 
providence,  concurring  with  the  movements  of  his  king- 
dom of  grace ; — and  to  find  that  in  the  same  media- 
torial capacity  he  even  adds  the  presence  and  the 
renewing  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  himself — surely 
this  should  leave  no  Christian  unemployed,  no  Church 
unrelated,  no  agency  we  could  invoke  in  earth  or 
heaven  to  be  absent  from  our  combined  endeavour  to 
carry  it  into  effect.  And  to  find  that  this  design  is 
as  practicable  as  it  is  obligatory ;  to  hear  other  Chris- 
tians   avowing    their    readiness   to   be    messengers   or 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  ]  29 

martyrs — honoured  or  ''accursed,"  anything  or  nothing 
— so  that  they  might  be  instrumental  in  promoting  it ; 
— to  see  Churches  selecting  and  sending  out  such  men 
to  carry  the  Gospel  onwards — other  Churches  emulat- 
ing their  example; — to  find  that  each  convert  as  he 
comes  into  the  Church  is  expected  to  proceed  to  his 
post  and  to  commence  his  service, — and  that  each 
Church  as  it  comes  into  being  is  expected  to  enter  into 
the  general  fellowship,  and  to  help  forward  the  common 
object  of  the  whole ;  to  see  that  the  success  of  one 
Church  is  rejoiced  in  as  the  triumph  of  all,  and  that  if 
they  suspend  their  song  of  praise  for  awhile,  it  is  only 
to  read  over  again  the  command  which  first  sent  them 
forth,  "Go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel 
to  every  creature" — to  prostrate  themselves  in  prayer 
for  that  aid  which  the  Spirit  alone  can  impart,  and 
which  furnishes  them  with  renewed  occasion  for  louder 
triumphs  still — this  is  a  spectacle  which  should  surely 
leave  no  other  question  on  the  lips  of  the  individual 
Christian  than ''Where  is  my  post,  and  what  shall  I 
do  ?"  and  no  other  law  for  the  Church  universal  than 
that  of  entire  consecration. 

Now  this  w^as  the  prayer  of  Christ,  not  for  the 
Apostles  only,  "but  for  them  also,"  he  adds,  "who 
shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word ;  that  they  ail 
may  be  one,  *  *=  *  *  that  the  world  may  believe  that 
thou  hast  sent  me."  Finding  themselves  acted  on  by 
hallowed  and  benevolent  influences  from  every  quarter, 
and  from  the  remotest  period  of  the  Church,  sur- 
rounded by  lofty  examples  of  Christian  devotedness, 
and  ever  standing  in  the  presence  of  his  wondrous 
Cross,  he  prayed  that  they  might  feel  themselves 
impelled  to  make  his  consecration  the  model  and 
motive  of  their  own,  that  God  might  be  glorified,  and 
man  be  saved. 

Be  it  remembered,  also,  as  we  shall  hereafter  have 
occasion  to  show,  that  there  is  a  sense  in  which  we  of 
the  present  day  sustain  the  accumulated  responsibility 
of  the  eighteen  centuries  w^hich  have  revolved  since  that 


130  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

prayer  was  uttered.  In  each  succeeding  age,  '*'  the  truth" 
10  which  it  refers,  has,  through  the  promised  agency  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  been  exercising  its  consecrating  influ- 
ence, and  instrumentally  creating  eminent  examples  of 
conscientiousness  which  treated  no  duty  as  unwelcome, 
and  which  evaded  no  obligation ;  of  fidelity  which 
spared  no  sin,  nor  allowed  any  iniquity,  however 
splendid  and  powerful,  to  pass  unrebuked — of  courage 
which  cowered  before  no  danger,  and  shrunk  from  no 
conflict — of  enlarged  benevolence  which  knew  no  limits 
to  its  plans,  and  toils,  and  travels  for  the  welfare  of 
man — of  Christian  self-abandonment,  which  swore 
eternal  devotedness  to  Christ,  though  in  the  presence 
of  the  flames  which  were  kindled  for  its  martyrdom — 
and  of  love  for  man,  which  even  in  those  flames, 
wept  over  the  misery  of  the  world,  and  agonized 
in  prayer  for  its  recovery.  These  examples  are  not 
lost,  though  their  memory  is  not  embalmed  in  the 
volume  of  inspiration,  their  influence  has  been  really 
added  to  that  of  patriarchs  and  prophets,  of  apostles 
and  primitive  saints.  Whether  we  are  conscious  of  its 
stimulating  power  or  not,  we  are  all  at  this  moment 
reaping  its  advantage,  and  are  consequently  standing 
under  the  weight  of  an  increased  responsibility. 

And  to  this,  as  the  next  chapter  is  intended  to  evince, 
is  also  to  be  added  the  influence  acting  on  us  from  the 
prophetic  disclosures  of  the  future.  The  torch  which 
the  hand  of  prophecy  holds  up,  throws  its  beams  on- 
wards to  the  consummation  of  all  things.  By  this  light 
we  catch  glimpses  of  noble  examples  yet  to  arise,  and 
of  glories  yet  to  dawn.  Many  are  seen  running  to  and 
fro  with  the  message  of  salvation — the  Spirit  poured 
out  from  on  high  to  give  it  success — multitudes  flocking 
to  embrace  it — angels  discharging  destruction  on  its 
foes — mountainous  obstacles  rolled  from  its  path — 
nations  walking  in  its  light — heaven  and  earth  cele- 
brating its  triumphs — and  Christ,  encircled  by  his 
redeemed  myriads,  and  receiving  the  homage  of  the 
universe.     One  of  the  obvious  intentions  of  these  dis* 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.  131 

closures,  is,  that  by  the  certain  prospect  they  afford 
of  ultimate  success,  the  church  may  be  encouraged  to 
act  out  its  divine  design,  and  to  throw  all  its  sanctified 
energies  into  the  object  of  the  world's  recovery.  This 
is  the  effect  which  they  have  had  on  many  of  its 
members  in  every  age.  "Having  seen  them  afar  off," 
and  caught  their  inspiration,  the  martyr  for  Christ  has 
embraced  the  block — the  minister  has  startled  the  slum- 
bering Church — the  Missionary  has  gone  forth  to  awake 
the  slumbering  world — the  saint,  like  David,  has  poured 
out  as  his  latest  prayer,  "blessed  be  his  holy  name 
for  ever  and  ever,  and  let  the  whole  earth  be  filled 
with  his  glory ;"  and  the  Church  has  echoed  with  the 
response  of  thousands,  adding,  "Amen,  and  amen." 
And  for  us  the  light  of  prophecy  still  burns,  that  on  us 
it  may  produce  the  same  effects. 

And  who  is  sufiicient  for  these  things?  "We  are 
placed,  as  it  were,  in  the  middle  of  a  scheme,  not  a 
fixed  but  a  progressive  one."  The  character  of  the 
economy  under  which  our  lot  is  cast,  is,  in  this  respect, 
unity  in  progress — unity  with  all  the  past,  in  progress 
for  all  the  future.  Upon  our  heads,  the  relations, 
influences,  and  consequent  responsibilities  of  all  the 
past  meet  and  rest,  and  to  us  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
the  remotest  generations  of  time,  and  all  the  holy 
beings  and  interests  in  the  universe,  are  looking  for 
corresponding  fidelity  and  zeal.  Whoever  may  deem 
it  necessary  to  form  plans  of  independent  action,  we 
are  surely  exempted  from  the  necessity,  for  we  our- 
selves form  parts  of  a  mediatorial  plan,  whose  pro- 
visions prepared  a  place  for  us,  and  bespoke  the  entire 
activity  and  influence  of  our  whole  nature,  even  before 
we  came  into  existence;  so  that  the  only  solicitude  left 
for  us  is,  how  best  we  may  satisfy  its  high  requirements. 
Boast  who  may  of  extensive  relations  and  influence,  this 
plan  connects  us  with  every  being  and  agency  the  past 
has  known,  and  places  in  our  hand  lines  of  interminable 
relation  and  influence  with  all  the  universal  and  endless 
future.     Tremble  who  may  under  a  sense  of  respon- 


132  CHRICTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY,  ETC. 

sibility,  "upon  us  the  ends  of  the  world  are  come." 
Our  very  position  consecrates  us  to  the  loftiest  service, 
loads  us  with  the  weightiest  obligation,  surrounds  us 
with  anxious  eyes  and  cries  of  solicitude  from  every 
quarter  of  the  divine  dominions.  For  the  Church  to 
be  faithful  now,  is  to  save  the  world.  Now,  if  ever, 
"  the  weak  should  be  as  David,  and  David  as  an  angel 
of  the  Lord."  Now,  if  ever,  prayer  should  wrestle — 
liberality  should  bring  forth  its  richest  offering,  its  final 
mite — the  church  should  unite  and  clothe  itself  with 
zeal.  For  now,  if  ever,  crowns  may  be  gained,  and 
kingdoms  won,  and  a  world  in  the  crisis  of  its  danger, 
be  saved — crowns  to  be  cast  at  the  feet  of  Christ, 
kingdoms  of  which  he  is  rightful  Lord  ;  and  a  world 
from  which  he  is  destined  to  derive  his  richest  revenue 
of  praise  for  ever. 


CHAPTER    III 


CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY  FOR  THE  EVANGELIZATION  OF  THE 
WORLD,  ILLUSTRATED  AND  ENFORCED  FROM  PROPHECY. 

If  such  be  the  theory  of  Christian  instrumentah'ty— 
if  its  place  in  the  Divine  administration  be  so  definite 
— its  obligations  so  solemn- — and  its  capabilities,  under 
God,  so  great,  we  may  reasonably  expect  that  in  a  book 
so  abounding  with  prophetic  disclosures  as  the  Bible, 
some  glimpses,  at  least,  will  be  afforded  us  of  its 
ultimate  results. 

That  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is  not  to  be  always 
limited  and  depressed,  is  clearly  affirmed  and  univer- 
sally admitted.  For,  as  it  has  been  justly  remarked, 
"  The  prophecies  respecting  the  kingdom  of  the  Mes- 
siah, its  extension  and  duration,  and  the  happiness  of 
his  innumerable  sul3Jects,  are  in  a  much  greater  pro- 
portion than  those  which  describe  his  humiliation  to 
sufferings,  and  his  dreadful  death."*  The  isles  are  to 
wait  for  his  law — the  ends  of  the  earth  are  to  fear  him 
— all  nations  are  to  be  blessed  in  him — the  heathen  are 
to  become  his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth  his  possessions ;  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord 
hath  spoken  it. 

Inspired  by  the  kindling  influence  of  such  a  prospect, 
the  Christian  Church  has,  in  every  age,  sung  of  a 
millennium, — a  period  during  which  all  the  authorities 

*  Rev.  J.  P.  Smith,  D.  D. 
12 


134  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

of  earth  are  to  take  law  and  life  from  the  lips  of 
Christ ;  all  nations  to  be  enrolled  among  his  subjects ; 
all  flesh  to  come  before  him ;  and  all  his  enemies  to 
be  placed  beneath  his  feet. 

But  if  the  Bible  be  thus  the  prophet  of  hope,  and 
if  the  loftiest  strains  of  those  who  believe  it  be  of 
a  glory  yet  to  come,  it  becomes  proportionably  im- 
portant to  inquire  whether  it  deigns  any  disclosures 
concerning  the  means  which  arc  to  lead  to  it ;  whether 
the  universal  triumph  of  the  Gospel  is  to  be  achieved, 
for  example,  by  the  noiseless  and  gradually  augmented 
instrumentality  of  the  Christian  Church,  accompanied 
by  the  energizing  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  whether 
it  is  to  be  efiected  in  a  manner  quite  irrespective 
of  such  instrumentality,  and  calculated  to  disparage 
it  before  the  eyes  of  the  universe  as  misplaced  and 
officious ;  or  whether  the  grand  consummation  shall 
be  realized  by  a  middle  course,  which,  while  it  will 
be  always  demanding,  employing,  and  absorbing  all 
the  sanctified  resources  of  the  Christian  Church,  will 
yet  leave  room  for  the  marked,  and  frequent,  and 
direct  interference  of  Heaven,  and  which  will  render 
such  interposition  indispensable  to  final  and  complete 
success. 

This,  indeed,  has  been  a  subject  of  the  deepest  interest 
to  the  Church  in  every  age.  For  as  her  heralds  have 
gone  forth  to  proclaim  the  Gospel — and  her  martyrs 
have  poured  out  their  blood  to  seal  its  truth,  which 
of  their  bosoms  did  not  swell  with  the  ennobling 
thought  which  fired  the  bosom  of  Latimer  in  Smith- 
field — that  they  were  assisting  to  enkindle  a  light 
which  should  never  be  extinguished — that  their  de- 
votedness  would  be  in  some  way  connected  with  the 
eventual  triumph  of  the  Cross,  and  be  made  subservient 
to  it  ?  In  proportion,  however,  as  the  time  of  the  end 
approaches,  the  question  as  to  the  relation  which  sanc- 
tified human  instrumentality  bears  to  it,  acquires 
additional  interest.  A  thousand  signs  are  supposed  to 
prognosticate    that  the   end   draweth   nigh;    and  each 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  135 

of  ihem  awakens  the  inquiry  anew,  "What  is  the  rela- 
tion which  the  sanctified  agency  of  Christians  sustains 
to  it  ?  Is  tiieir  benevolent  activity  essential,  in  the 
order  of  means,  to  the  latter  day  glory  ?  or  does  the 
tenor  of  prophecy  indicate  that  so  far  from  contribut- 
ing aught  to  its  arrival  and  its  splendour,  they  should 
rather  "stand  still,  and  see  the  salvation  of  the  Lord  ?" 

Still  more  important  does  this  inquiry  become  in 
proportion  as  Christians,  awaking  to  what  they  regard 
as  the  voice  of  duty,  multiply  their  institutions,  and 
enlarge  the  sphere  of  their  activity,  animated  by  the 
hope  that  their  humble  endeavours  shall  certainly  be 
crowned  with  success.  Who  that  surveys  the  wide  field 
of  Missionary  effort  in  the  present  day,  and  marks  the 
*'note  of  preparation"  for  still  greater  activity,  can  feel 
indifferent  to  the  inquiry,  whether  or  not  it  is  to  lead  to 
any  valuable  result  ?  Who  does  not  perceive  that  on 
the  answer  to  this  inquiry  depends,  if  not  the  very  con- 
tinuance of  our  activity,  much,  at  least,  of  the  cheerful- 
ness of  our  obedience,  and  the  degree  of  our  devoted- 
ness  ?  And  who  does  not  perceive  that  if  the  glory  of 
the  millennium  is  to  burst  on  the  world  quite  irrespective 
of  Christian  instrumentality,  to  urge  such  instrumen- 
tality as  the  appointed  means  of  hastening  that  period 
is  to  indulge  in  delusion  for  the  present,  and  to  prepare 
mortification  for  the  future  ? 

But  should  there  be  those  in  the  Church  of  any  con- 
sideration or  influence,  whose  views  of  prophecy  induce 
them  to  depreciate,  if  not  even  to  deprecate,  the  high 
attempt  which  aims  at  the  conversion  of  the  world,  it 
becomes  a  step  of  the  first  importance  to  inquire  into 
the  authority  of  such  views,  and,  if  found  unscriptural, 
to  obviate  their  paralyzing  effect.  We  are  aware,  in- 
deed, that  among  those  who,  for  the  sake  of  distinction, 
are  called  millenarians,  there  are  to  be  found  divines  of 
considerable  reputation,  and  Christians  of  the  highest 
sanctity.  And  equally  aware  are  we  that  under  the 
generic  name  of  millenarianism  is  included  a  great 
diversity  of  opinions  as  to  the  order  of  the  events  imme- 


136  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

diately  preceding  the  millennium,  and  the  kind  of  means 
which  will  be  made  contributory  to  it — that  it  does  not 
necessarily  disparage  the  benevolent  endeavours  of  the 
present  day,  nor  seek  to  discourage  them  by  constantly 
harping  on  their  ultimate  failure — but  that  many  of 
those  who  hold  it,  profess  to  derive  from  it  motives  to 
increased  diligence  in  the  cause  of  God.  And,  accord- 
ingly, some  of  them,  we  are  aware,  number  among  the 
liberal  and  active  supporters  of  our  religious  institutions. 
Still,  however,  we  cannot  but  suspect  that  in  many  of 
such  instances,  we  are  indebted  for  what  they  do,  rather 
to  the  very  natural  desire  of  recommending  their  peculiar 
views  to  others  than  to  the  views  themselves — that  their 
conduct  is,  in  this  particular,  better  than  their  creed — 
that  it  is  the  triumph  of  their  piety  over  their  opinions 
— and  that,  as  a  vehicle  put  into  rapid  motion,  will  con- 
tinue to  advance  for  awhile  by  its  own  momentum, 
after  the  power  which  first  propelled  it  is  withdrawn, 
their  present  activity  is  the  result  of  principles  which 
date  anterior  to  their  peculiar  views  of  prophecy.  Our 
warrant  for  this  fear  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  of 
those  who,  prior  to  their  adoption  of  millenarianism,  "did 
run  well,"  and  who  even  subsequently  continued  for 
awhile  to  move  in  the  same  direction,  a  very  large  pro- 
portion are  now  acting  in  reference  to  the  diffusion  of 
the  Gospel  as  if  a  prophet  had  been  deputed  to  say  to 
them,  "your  strength  is  to  sit  still." 

That  such  must  be  the  necessary  effect  of  all  views  of 
the  future  which  tend  to  show  that  the  endeavours  of 
the  present  will  prove  abortive,  is  evident.  Hope  is 
the  parent  of  all  activity.  We  ourselves  "are  saved  by 
hope ;"  and  we  shall  attempt  instrumentally  to  save 
others  only  as  we  are  animated  by  the  same  principle. 
To  be  doomed  to  labour  without  hope,  has  been  my- 
ihologically  represented  as  one  of  the  punishments  of 
the  lost.  To  expect,  then,  that  the  same  efforts  will 
be  made  where  failure  is  certain,  as  where  success 
is  anticipated,  is  to  overlook  a  fundamental  principle 
of  human  nature. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  ]  37 

To  say  that  "duty  is  ours  and  events  are  God's;" 
and  that  therefore  we  are  to  advance  whatever  the 
result  may  be,  is  to  forget  the  important  fact,  that  in  the 
case  before  us,  the  "events,"  according  to  the  millen- 
arian,  are  no  longer  God's,  for  he  is  supposed  to  have 
clearly  foretold  them.  This  proverbial  saying,  there- 
fore, has  no  application  here.  As  long  as  the  result  of 
a  course  of  duty  is  doubtful  only,  hope  and  fear 
alternate ;  nor  would  it  be  possible  for  fear  entirely 
to  prevail  without  bringing  the  mind  to  the  full  and 
fatal  pause  of  despair.  But  in  the  question  under 
consideration,  we  are  not  supposed  to  be  left  in  a  state 
of  uncertainty  as  to  the  issue  of  our  endeavours,  but  to 
be  distinctly  apprized  that  they  will  end  in  defeat.  And 
the  known  and  inevitable  tendency  of  such  a  state  of 
mind  is  (with  certain  exceptions  of  the  kind  we  have 
noticed)  to  produce  relative  inaction.  For  if  the 
members  of  the  Christian  church  were  to  be  now 
divided  into  those  who  are  strenuous  in  the  Cause  of 
missions,  and  those  who  are  comparatively  inert ;  where 
should  we  expect  to  find  the  latter  but  among  those  who 
are  postponing  the  moral  improvement  of  the  world  to  the 
second  coming  of  Christ ;  and  who,  relying  on  the  suffi- 
ciency of  that  future  miracle,  anticipate  little  or  no 
advantage  from  the  use  of  present  means  ?  Nor  would 
our  expectation,  it  is  to  be  feared,  be  disappointed. 

On  a  question,  then,  involving  nothing  less  than 
the  movements  and  hopes  of  the  Christian  Church 
in  relation  to  the  world,  and  the  practical  aspect  of 
prophecy  towards  each,  it  is  important  that  we  should 
distinctly  state  what  it  is  we  object  to  in  others,  and 
what  are  the  views  and  expectations  which,  from  a  con- 
sideration of  prophecy,  we  ourselves  are  led  to  entertain. 

With  the  minor  points  of  controversy  in  the  pre- 
millennial  creed,  we  have  at  present  nothing  to  do ; 
nor  even  whh  the  great  question  of  the  "personal 
advent."  From  more  than  a  cursory  survey  of  prophecy, 
the  writer  is  free  to  admit  that  the  hope  of  those  who 
anticipate  that  the  happy  reign  of  piety  on  earth  will 
12* 


138  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITT 

be  attained  by  the  peaceful  and  uninterrupted  progress 
of  the  means  at  present  employed,  and  by  these  alone, 
is  unwarranted  by  Scripture. 

The  cause  of  Christ,  as  now  conducted,  is  no  doubt 
destined  to  sustain  many  a  severe  encounter  and  dis- 
heartening reverse.  And  even  his  coming* — the  advent 
of  his  power,  in  strange  providences,  and  at  critical 
junctures,  may  again  and  again  be  necessary  in  order  to 
turn  the  battle  at  the  gate,  and  to  crown  it  with  success. 
But  that  which  we  strenuously  oppose  is  the  practical 
inference  too  generally  drawn  from  the  pre-millennial 
creed,  and  which  operates,  as  we  think,  both  to  the 
dishonour  of  the  prophetic  Scriptures,  and  to  the  dis- 
couragement of  Christian  activity — namely,  that  because 
a  mighty  conflict  may  await  the  Christian  Church,  and 
because  the  marked  interposition  of  Christ  may  be 
necessary  to  terminate  that  struggle,  and  to  take  actual 
and  entire  possession  of  the  earth,  therefore,  but  little 
real  good  is  to  be  expected  from  the  most  devoted 
endeavours  of  the  Church  at  present.  And  that  which 
we  hope  to  substantiate  is,  first,  that  such  an  inference 
is  at  variance  with  some  of  the  admitted  principles  and 
necessary  deductions  of  Divine  revelation ;  secondly, 
that  it  is  not  warranted  by  prophecy  itself;  but,  thirdly, 
that  the  very  reverse  is  the  doctrine  of  the  prophetic 
Scriptures ;  and,  fourthly,  is  found  to  be  in  perfect 
harmony  with  every  other  part  of  the  Word  of  God,  by 
which  its  correctness  can  be  properly  tested. 

The  prosecution  of  this  inquiry  will,  if  we  do  not 
greatly  mistake,  disclose  the  important  facts,  that  what- 
ever conflicts  may  hereafter  ensue  between  the  Church 
and  the  world,  will  be  provoked  chiefly  by  the  success 
of  the  Gospel, — and  that  whatever  judgments  the  earth 
may  yet  be  called  to  witness,  they  will  only  concur  with 
the  power  of  the  Gospel,  like  the  miracles  of  the  primi- 
tive Church,   to   enlarge  the  domains  of  the  Christian 

♦  The  Ttagovala,  or,  "coming  of  Christ,  is  referred  to  various 
providential  events,  by  some  of  those,  even,  who  believe  that  it  re- 
lates pre-eminently  to  a  personal  pre-millennial  advent. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  139 

faith  ;  so  that  those  very  predictions,  which  are  too  often 
made  to  depress  the  hopes,  and  dishearten  the  zeal,  of 
the  Church,  will  be  found  calculated,  when  rightly  un- 
derstood, to  animate  its  activity  as  with  the  blast  of  a 
trunripet.  It  will  then  be  our  aim,  in  concluding  the 
chapter,  to  harmonize  the  whole  with  the  chapters  which 
have  gone  before  ;  and  to  show  the  bearing  of  the  entire 
Part  on  the  consecration  of  the  Church  for  the  conver- 
sion of  the  world. 

I.  "  Every  single  text  of  prophecy,"  remarks  Bishop 
Horsley,  "  is  to  be  considered  as  part  of  an  entire 
system,  and  to  be  understood  in  that  sense  which  may 
best  connect  it  with  the  whole."  Extending  still 
farther  the  application  of  this  valuable  rule  of  pro- 
phetic exposition,  we  may  add,  that  the  entire  scheme 
of  prophecy  itself  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  part  of  the 
great  system  of  revelation,  and  to  be  understood  in  that 
sense  which  may  best  harmonize  with  every  other  part. 

1.  Now  if  there  be  a  principle  in  Scripture  to  be 
relied  on,  surely  it  is  this,  that  the  Divine  injunction 
of  any  relative  duty,  implies  a  promise  of  the  Divine 
assistance  requisite  to  its  performance,  and  of  success 
proportioned  to  the  degree  in  which  we  avail  ourselves 
of  that  assistance.  In  illustration  of  this  position,  it 
will  be  sufficient  to  quote  the  familiar  passage,  ''  Train 
up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go  ;  and  when  he  is  old,  he 
will  not  depart  from  it."  Nor  does  this  language,  or  the 
large  class  of  Scriptures  to  which  it  belongs,  imply  any- 
thing more  than  that  the  moral  department  of  the 
Divine  government  is  conducted  on  a  plan  equally  with 
the  natural  or  physical ;  that  in  the  world  of  mind,  as 
well  as  of  matter,  certain  causes  produce  certain  effects. 
The  effects,  indeed,  may  not  result  precisely  in  accord- 
ance with  human  calculations.  As  in  the  ministry  of 
Christ,  they  may  be  long  delayed,  and  even  apparently 
be  made  frustrate.  But  though  ''he  was  despised  and 
rejected  of  men,"  the  same  chapter  which  foretold  his 
rejection,  adds,  *'  he  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul. 


140  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

and  shall  be  satisfied ;"  and  every  subsequent  age  has 
witnessed  its  gradual  fulfilment.  This  constancy  of 
connexion,  indeed,  between  means  and  ends — between 
causes  and  eflects — seems  essential  to  the  character  of 
a  wise  and  gracious  government,  as  well  as  to  furnish 
some  of  the  motives  necessary  to  obedience  ;  especially, 
too,  as  it  still  reserves  to  its  Divine  Sovereign  the  right 
of  exceeding  his  promises  in  whatever  way  he  pleases. 

But  according  to  the  views  of  many  of  those  of 
whom  we  are  speaking,"  here  is  a  grand  exception  to 
the  uniformity  of  the  Divine  procedure.  Yes,  in  the 
very  last  act,  the  closing  scene  of  the  great  drama 
of  Providence, — where,  if  apparent  irregularity  had 
previously  obtained,  we  should  rather  have  looked  for 
the  explanation,  and  coincidence  of  the  whole, — even 
here,  forsooth,  the  universe  is  to  witness  the  disruption 
of  a  principle  which  had  previously  maintained  the 
stability  of  a  rock ;  a  great  gulf  is  to  open  and  yawn 
between  means  and  ends.  For  though  the  commands 
of  God  had  pointed  to  a  particular  issue, — the  con- 
version of  the  w'orld ;  and  though  the  hopes  and 
endeavours  of  his  people  had,  in  dependence  on  his 
gracious  aid,  travelled  in  the  same  direction,  it  is  then 
to  appear  that  they  had  never  tended  to  realize  it, 
and  that  a  stupendous  miracle  alone  can.  ]:irevent  the 
dreadful  result.  Thus  the  prophecies  of  Scripture 
are  made  to  clash  with  its  commands. 

2.  Equally  at  variance  does  such  an  interpretation 
appear  with  the  unimpeachable  sincerity  of  the  Divine 
character.  The  substance  of  all  the  relative  commands 
which  God  has  enjoined  is  this,  "Evangelize  the 
world ;"  and  the  substance  of  all  his  promises  corre- 
sponds with  it, — "The  wojld  shall  be  evangelized." 
In  obedience  to  this  command,  and  animated  by  this 
promise,  his  Church  is  beginning  to  address  itself  more 
seriously  than  ever  to  its  great  vocation.  But  while 
it  is  allowed  that  the  command  which  enjoins  this 
duty,  and  the  promise  which  inspires  this  hope,  stand 
out  so  clearly  on  the  sacred  page  that  he  who  runs 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  141 

may  read,  it  is  contended  by  the  party  in  question 
that  a  third  class  of  Sacred  Scripture  comes  to  light ; 
more  occult,  it  may  be,  in  meaning,  and  requiring 
very  prolonged  and  careful  consideration ;  but  the 
practical  result  of  which  is,  that  obedience  to  the 
command  will  prove  all  but  fruitless  for  the  end  pro- 
posed, and  that  the  hope  of  personal  success  inspired 
by  the  promise  is  almost  entirely  unfounded.  As  if 
a  king  should  forward  to  the  commander  of  his  forces 
positive  orders  to  engage  the  foe,  accompanied  with 
assurances  of  certain  triumph,  but  should  interline 
the  despatches  with  a  secret  writing  in  cypher,  which 
required  to  be  held  to  the  fire  and  laboriously  studied 
in  order  to  be  understood,  and  the  inference  to  be 
drawn  from  which  was,  that  the  campaign  would  end 
in  all  but  entire  defeat,  and  that  the  victory  promised 
would  ensue  in  a  manner  quite  irrespective  of  his 
conflicts.  Such  a  communication  would  throw  at  least 
a  deep  shade  on  the  sincerity  of  him  who  sent  it. 

3.  Nor  does  such  an  interpretation  seem  less  to 
impugn  the  benignity  of  the  Divine  character.  Instead 
of  taking  it  for  granted  that  we  should  be  enamoured 
of  duty  for  its  own  sake  alone,  he  evinces  the  kindest 
consideration  for  our  fallen  condition  by  accompanying 
his  commands  with  appropriate  promises  and  blessings ; 
graciously  alluring  us  to  cultivate  the  tree  by  engaging 
that  its  fruits  shall  be  our  own.  The  Saviour  himself 
was  not  called  to  suffer  without  enjoying  the  sustaining 
prospect  of  its  glorious  results.  On  the  lofty  moral 
elevation  of  the  cross,  the  triumphs  of  his  gospel 
through  all  the  ages  of  time,  passed  in  review  before 
him;  and  "for  the  joy  which  was  thus  set  before 
him,  he  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame." 

But  on  the  hypothesis  in  question  his  followers  are 
required  to  labour  and  suffer,  not  only  without  the 
hope  of  consequent  usefulness,  but  even  in  the  clear 
foresight  of  comparative  failure.  Now  to  expect  that 
we  should  be  as  active  in  our  efforts  to  evangelize  the 
world  in  the  face  of  this  foreseen  defeat  as  we  should 


142  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

be  in  the  prospect  of  success,  is,  to  say  the  least,  at 
variance  with  that  benignity  by  which  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  regard  the  Divine  requirements  as  ordinarily 
distinguished. 

4.  It  may  properly  be  objected  also  that  the  hypo- 
thesis which  makes  prophecy  disclose  the  comparative 
failure  of  a  course  of  conduct  which  the  command  of 
God  has  yet  made  obligatory,  is  at  variance  with  that 
wise  reserve  of  Scripture  concerning  such  events  of 
the  future  as  involve  the  freedom  of  human  action. 
While  some  of  the  prophecies  predictive  of  happy 
results  are  so  constructed  as  to  encourage  the  obedience 
of  those  whom  they  chiefly  concern,  and  others  pre- 
dictive of  evil  are  calculated  to  produce  repentance, 
and  while  they  thus  denote  the  benignity  of  their 
Author,  by  furnishing  motives  to  holiness,  there  is 
none  which,  if  rightly  interpreted,  can  be  regarded 
as  furnishing  a  single  motive  of  a  contrary  nature. 
But  according  to  the  views  we  are  opposing,  here  is 
a  large  class  of  prophecies  the  tendency  of  which  is 
to  dishearten  obedience  by  depriving  it  prospectively 
of  its  appropriate  results ;  thus  interfering  with  that 
probationary  freedom  of  action  which  a  concealment 
of  the  future  would  have  left  undisturbed. 

5.  Besides  which,  the  views  in  question  appear 
highly  derogatory  to  the  present  economy  as  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  Spirit,  and  to  the  ordinance  of  preach- 
ing as  the  medium  of  his  operation.  "  Glorious  things 
are  spoken"  in  prophecy  of  the  results  which  should 
signalize  the  impartation  of  the  Spirit.  If  Isaiah,  for 
instance,  be  asked  how  long  the  spiritual  desolation 
of  his  people,  as  at  present  exhibited,  will  continue, 
he  replies,*  ^'  Until  the  Spirit  be  poured  upon  us 
from  on  high ;  then  shall  the  w  ilderness  be  a  fruitful 
field,  and  the  fruitful  field  be  esteemed  a  forest."  If 
we  inquire  of  the  Lord,  at  the  hand  of  Ezekiel,  by 
what  agency  the  Jews  are  to  be  finally   converted,   and 

*  Chap,  xxxii.  15  ;  see  also  Zech.  iv.  6. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  143 

made  eminent  in  the  earth,  the  reply  is  substantially 
the  same,*  "  Neither  will  I  hide  my  face  any  more 
from  them ;  for  I  have  poured  out  my  Spirit  upon 
the  house  of  Israel,  saith  the  Lord  God."  In  the 
prophecy  of  Joel  the  promise  of  the  Spirit  takes  a  still 
wider  range ;  "For  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last 
days,  saith  God,  I  will  pour  out  of  my  Spirit  upon 
all  flesh. "f  Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews  are  included 
in  its  comprehensive  embrace ;  for,  says  the  apostle 
Paul,  when  quoting  a  part  of  the  prediction,^  "there 
is  no  difference  between  the  Jew  and  the  Greek :  for 
the  same  Lord  over  all  is  rich  unto  all  that  call  upon 
him.  For  whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  saved." 

Here,  then,  is  a  series  of  predictions  importing 
that  during  the  last  days§  spiritual  transformations 
of  the  most  glorious  and  comprehensive  nature  shall 
result  from  the  impartation  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  From 
the  day  of  Pentecost  down  to  the  present  the  Spirit 
has  effected  these  transformations  chiefly  through  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel.  Even  on  that  memorable 
day  the  "  signs  and  wonders"  which  attended  his  eftu- 
sion  only  prepared  the  way  for  the  pungent  address 
of  the  apostle  Peter.  It  was  ''^  token  they  heard  i/iis," 
that  the  arrows  of  the  Lord  took  effect  in  three 
thousand  hearts.  Miraculous  phenomena  may  be  em- 
ployed to  engage  the  requisite  attention  for  a  messenger 
from  God,  and  adequately  to  attest  the  divinity  of  his 
message,  and  may  even  disarm  unbelief,  and  enlist  the 
judgment  on  the  side  of  the  truth  ;  but  when  the 
heart   is  to  be   pierced  and  subdued,   the   ^^  message''^ 

*  Chap,  xxxix.  29.  f  Chap.  ii.  28^  as  quoted  Acts  ii.  17. 

i  Rom.  X.  12,  1.3. 

^  The  phrase  tj^?2;jr!  tT^'^n'^,  LXX  tV  laTg  ta'/utcuc,  r^ft^Qaic, 
originally  and  properly  denoted /w/wre  times.  But  as  the  coming  of 
the  Messiah  was,  for  the  Jew,  the  most  glorious  event  in  all  the  fu- 
ture, the  phrase  came  to  be  appropriated  to  the  period  of  his  advent 
and  reign.  Accordingly,  in  the  New  Testament ;  for  example,  in 
Acts  ii.  17,  Heb.  i.  2,  1  Pet.  i.  20,  it  is  employed  to  denote  the  times 
ever  since  the  first  coming  of  Christ. 


144  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

itself  is  ''the  sword  of  the  Spirit."  Whence  we 
may  infer  that  in  all  subsequent  times,  whatever 
miraculous  means  may  be  subordinately  employed,  his 
renewing  influence  will  be  exerted  principally  through 
the  same  instrumentality.  And  as  the  Church  has 
not  yet  witnessed  anything  answering  to  the  fulfilment 
of  these  predictions,  as  an  untouched  ocean  of  spiritual 
influence  is  yet  contained  in  them,  we  are  to  conclude 
that  great  as  the  triumphs  of  the  Gospel  at  times 
have  been  already,  a  period  is  impending  when  we 
shall  see  far  greater  things  than  these.  So  that  any 
views  which  cast  but  a  passing  shade  on  that  happy 
prospect,  or  which  transfer  the  honour  of  effecting 
them  to  any  other  department  of  the  Divine  govern- 
ment, must  be  regarded  as  disparaging  to  the  dispen- 
sation of  the  Spirit,  and  to  the  Divine  appointment 
of  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel  as  the  medium  of  his 
influence. 

II.  But  instead  of  multiplying  objections  to  a  view 
which  may  prove  on  investigation  to  have  no  foundation 
in  Scripture,  let  us.  Secondly,  inquire  whether  it  can 
produce  any  direct  warrant  from  the  word  of  God. 

In  applying  the  predictions  of  the  Old  Testament 
to  the  present  economy,  our  first  care  should  be  to 
select  those  only  which  cannot  possible  have  found 
their  accomplishment  in  the  restoration  of  the  Jews 
from  the  Babylonish  captivity. 

Now,  confining  our  attention  to  a  (ew  of  such  only, 
we  find  that  the  predictions  relative  to  the  enlargement 
of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  may  be  arranged  in  reference 
to  the  question  before  us,  i.  e.  as  to  the  means  of  that 
enlargement,  into  five  classes. 

1 .  The  first  class  consists  of  those  predictions  which 
simply  announce  the  final  evangelization  of  the  earth ; 
such  are  Psa.  xxii.  27,  Hab.  ii.  14,  and  Mai.  i.  11. 
But  as  this  class  is  silent,  except  by  inference,  concern- 
ing both  the  agent  and  means  by  which  the  end  pre- 
dicted will  be  attained,  they  leave  us  to  pursue  our 
inquiry  in  other  quarters. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  145 

2.  A  second  class  describes  the  agent,  but  is  silent 
concerning  the  means.  Looking  forward  to  the  final 
union  of  Israel  and  Judah,  the  Almighty  promises, 
"  Moreover,  I  will  make  a  covenant  of  peace  with  them  ; 
it  shall  be  an  everlasting  covenant  with  them  :  and  I 
will  place  them  and  multiply  them,  and  will  set  my 
sanctuary  in  the  midst  of  them  for  evermore.  My 
tabernacle  also  shall  be  with  them  :  yea,  I  will  be  their 
God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people.*  Here,  the  hand 
engaged  is  divine,  while  the  means  to  be  employed  are 
apparently  omitted.  But  even  supposing  that  the 
nature  of  those  means  could  in  no  instance  be  inferred 
from  a  consideration  of  the  context,  we  should  be  as 
much  warranted  in  concluding  that  the  changes  pre- 
dicted would  be  accomplished  by  human  instrumentality, 
as  any  other  party  would  be  in  advocating  a  purely 
miraculous  fulfilment.  Spiritual  transformations  are  in 
Scripture  ascribed  to  God  w^hen  they  are  effected  by 
such  means,  as  directly  as  if  they  were  efiected  without 
them ;  and  for  this  simple  reason,  that  the  efficient 
cause  of  the  change  is  exclusively  divine.  "  So  then 
neither  is  he  that  planteth  any  thing,  neither  he  that 
watereth ;  but  God  that  giveth  the  increase."  Still, 
then,  we  are  left  to  look  farther  for  a  description  of 
the  means  by  which  the  world  is  to  be  planted  and 
watered  for  the  divine  "increase." 

3.  Now  the  millenarian  supposes  that  he  has  found 
these  in  a  third  class  of  Sacred  Scriptures,  which  fore- 
tells a  series  of  judgments  and  preternatural  events,  to 
be  followed  by  permanent  and  universal  blessedness. 
The  existence  of  such  a  class  we  not  only  readily,  but 
joyfully,  admit.  But  here  it  is  obvious  to  remark  that 
such  providential  occurrences  have  no  moral  adaptation 
whatever,  to  renovate  the  minds  of  men;  ''-for,  if  they 
believe  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  will  they 
believe,  though  one  rose  from  the  dead."  All  that 
such  dispensations  are  appointed  to  effect  is,  as  we  have 

*  Ezek.  xxxvii.  26,  27. 
13 


146  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

already  remarked,  to  prepare  the  way,  under  the  over- 
ruling guidance  of  God,  for  the  wider  diffusion  of  the 
Gospel.  When  the  river  of  living  water,  deepening 
and  widening  in  its  onward  course,  has  reached  some 
Alps  or  Andes,  which  threaten  to  arrest  for  ever  its 
healing  progress.  Omnipotence  will  then  say  to  the 
mountainous  obstacle,  "Be  thou  removed,  and  be  thou 
cast  into  the  sea,"  and  onward  the  tide  of  life  shall  flow. 
So  that  the  most  stupendous  events  of  providence  must 
be  regarded,  even  when  they  are  charged  with  ihe 
greatest  results,  as  only  secondary  and  subordinate  to 
the  spiritual  influences  of  the  truth. 

Allowing,  then,  for  the  sake  of  the  argument,  that 
all  the  momentous  events  which  are  supposed  by  many 
to  be  now  impending,  are  actually  at  hand, — surely, 
they  are  not  to  be  spoken  of  by  the  Christian  in  terms 
of  gloom,  and  deprecation.  If  they  are  to  "turn  out 
rather  to  the  furtherance  of  the  Gospel,"  we  ought  to 
hail  theyn  with  welcome,  and  the  Church  with  congratu- 
lations. Let  us  not  be  told,  for  instance,  with  looks 
of  solicitude,  that  the  honour  of  converting  the  world 
is  not  designed  for  us,  but  is  reserved  for  the  restored 
and  enlightened  Jews.  Even  admitting  that  it  is  so, 
it  is  enough  for  us  to  know  that  success  is  not,  mean- 
while, withheld  from  Gentile  Christians ;  but  that  our 
usefulness  is  in  the  full  proportion  of  our  endeavours ; 
and  that  we  have  scriptural  reason  to  believe  it  will 
continue  to  be  so.  And  if,  besides  this  cheering  fact, 
we  can  be  certified  that,  great  as  our  success  is,  the 
spiritual  triumphs  of  a  coming  day,  and  of  another 
people,  will  be  incomparably  greater,  we  "therein  do 
rejoice,  yea,  and  will  rejoice."  Could  we  now  be  assured 
that  in  India,  for  example,  "a  nation  had  been  born 
in  a  day ;"  that  great  numbers  of  its  converts  were 
going  "everywhere,  preaching  the  word;"  and  that 
wherever  they  preached,  more  than  the  triumphs  of 
Apostolic  days  were  the  result,  would  not  our  "joy  be 
as  the  joy  of  harvest  .'*"  and  if  ever  the  period  should 
come  when  a  similar  report  shall  be  true  of  the  Jewish 
people,  will  our  transports  be  less  .'^     "Would  to  God 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  147 

that  all  the  Lord's  people  were  prophets  !"  and  would 
to  God  that  they  were  so  at  once!  "For  in  Christ 
Jesus  there  is  neither  Greek  nor  Jew. "  The  joy  of  one 
would  be  the  joy  of  all. 

But,  says  the  millenarian,  the  period  of  which  you 
speak,  will  be  introduced  by  appalling  judgments.  And 
in  what  age  of  the  world,  we  ask,  was  the  progress  of 
religion  ever  unattended  by  such  visitations  ?  Were  the 
ancient  Israehtes  restored  from  their  Chaldean  exile, 
and  the  temple  rebuilt,  without  changing  the  fortunes 
of  the  political  world  ?  Did  the  unity  of  the  Roman 
empire,  at  the  commencement  of  Christianity,  provide 
for  the  easier  circulation  of  the  Gospel  through  the 
civihzed  world  ?  But  how  many  a  fair  and  populous 
province  was  subjugated  in  order  to  that  unity.  Did 
God  design  to  bring  the  uncivilized  world,  soon  after, 
under  the  influence  of  the  Gospel  ?  The  end  was 
gained  by  the  northern  invasion,  and  the  consequent 
breaking  up  of  the  Roman  empire.  And,  be  it  remem- 
bered, that  these  are  events  which,  though  described 
by  us  with  a  stroke  of  the  pen,  filled  the  eye  of  the 
prophet  with  the  vision  of  broken  thrones,  and  his  ear 
with  the  shriek  of  expiring  nations  ;  events  which,  when 
they  occurred,  threw  the  earth  into  political  convulsions, 
and  the  history  of  which  might  be  easily  expanded  into 
blood-stained  volumes.  Nor  has  the  last  fifty  years 
fallen  short,  in  eventful  interest,  of  any  equal  period, 
perhaps,  since  time  began. 

In  the  sacred  calendar  of  prophecy  we  may  suppose 
these  years  to  have  been  marked  with  peculiar  signs. 
Europe — the  world — has  been  in  a  state  of  volcanic 
activity.  Yet,  stand  with  Daniel  on  the  bank  of  the 
river  Ulai,  and  you  will  see  that  all  these  events  belong 
to  a  series  which  know  no  pause.  Stand  with  the  seer 
of  the  Apocalypse  "in  the  isle  which  is  called  Patmos," 
and  you  will  see  that,  from  the  very  first  age  of  Chris- 
tianity, seal  after  seal  has  been  opened ;  trumpet  after 
trumpet  sounded ;  and  vial  after  vial  poured  out  with- 
that  if  there  has  been  "silence  in 


148  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

heaven,  about  the  space  of  half  an  hour,"  it  has  been 
only  the  profound  silence  which  precedes  the  bursting  of 
a  scene  of  stupendous  interest.  Speak  not,  then,  as  if 
the  Almighty  were  about  to  clothe  himself  with  judg- 
ment, and  to  arise  out  of  his  place  no\v,  for  the  first 
time.  The  solemn  events  which  are  yet  to  transpire 
belong  to  a  series  which  began  in  Eden.  Like  the 
pillar  of  cloud  and  of  fire,  they  only  indicate  the  con- 
tinued presence  of  Him  who,  having  accompanied  the 
march  of  his  cause  through  all  the  ages  of  past  time,  is 
graciously  pledged  to  vindicate,  sustain,  and  facilitate 
its  progress  through  all  the  future ;  and  who  thus 
furnishes  his  people  with  motives  to  increased  activity, 
and  inspires  them  with  the  hope  of  success. 

But,  says  the  millenarian,  the  events  which  impend 
are  charged  with  unexampled  judgments ;  they  contain 
the  very  dregs  of  the  vials  of  wrath.  Still,  we  reply, 
they  are  only  events  which  harmonize  with  the  progress 
of  the  Gospel,  and  the  wants  of  the  world ;  and  which 
show  that  providence  and  grace  are  but  two  depart- 
ments of  the  same  universal  government.  For  in  what 
are  these  judgments  to  consist  ?  In  the  subversion  of 
the  Mahometan  empire  ?  in  the  destruction  of  the  man 
of  sin  ?  in  the  overthrow  of  Antichrist,  Mahometan, 
Papal,  and  Infidel  ?  in  the  purgation  of  Christendom  ? 
And  is  this  a  consummation  which  the  Christian  should 
dread  ?  Is  this  a  prospect  which  should  paralyze  our 
activity,  or  depress  our  expectations  of  usefulness  ?  Has 
the  empire  of  imposture  been  so  innoxious  in  its  influ- 
ence that  we  shall  be  tender  of  its  termination  ?  Has 
the  mystic  Babylon  been  so  sparing  of  the  blood  of  the 
saints,  and  so  true  to  the  interests  of  the  Church,  that 
we  should  deprecate  the  descent  of  the  angel  who  is 
to  "lighten  the  earth  with  his  glory,"  while  he  cries 
"mightily  with  a  loud  voice,  Babylon  the  great  is  fallen, 
is  fallen  ?"  Is  the  pouring  out  of  the  seventh  vial  on 
the  air,  the  seat  of  Satan's  empire,  a  prospect  to  fill  us 
with  apprehension  ?  True,  the  accomplishment  of  these 
events  rnay  ask  a  larger  theatre,  and  the  arm  of   Provi- 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  149 

dence  may  take  a  wider  sweep,  than  has  hitherto  been 
deemed  requisite.  For  who  can  expect  that  forms  of 
evil,  nm'sed  in  conflict,  and  which  have  attained  the 
growth  of  centuries,  will  yield  the  final  contest,  and 
retire  to  the  pit  whence  they  issued,  without  a  struggle  ? 
and  what  if  that  contest  should  enlist,  on  one  side  or  the 
other,  the  ardent  sympathies  of  all  creation  ?  if  the 
earth  should  be  cleared  of  every  minor  interest  till  this 
is  decided — what  if  the  battle  of  Armageddon  be  fought  ? 
What  w^ould  it  show  but  that  the  world  was  at  length 
completely  aroused  from  that  moral  torpor  in  which  it 
has  ever  slumbered,  and  to  awake  it  from  which  had 
often  been  the  earnest  endeavour  of  the  Church  ?  and 
what  if,  on  the  eve  of  that  conflict,  the  armies  of  the 
living  God  should  find  that  He,  on  whose  "head  are 
many  crowns,"  who  "hath  on  his  vesture  and  on  his 
thigh  a  name  written.  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords," 
had  led  forth  the  armies  of  heaven,  "on  white  horses, 
clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and  clean,"  and  that  they 
were  actually  mingling  with  their  martial  ranks,  and 
already  shouting  of  victory  ?  what  could  be  the  issue, 
but  glorious  triumph  ?  What,  but  an  ample  godlike 
answer  to  the  prayers  of  ten  thousand  times  ten  thou- 
sand saints  ?  to  the  cries  and  throes  of  the  whole  creation, 
till  then  groaning  and  travailing  in  pain  together  ?  and  is 
this  a  prospect  to  be  spoken  of  in  terms  of  gloom  and 
sadness  ?  Ask  we  how  Heaven  regards  it  ?  The  vision 
has  for  ages  filled  it  with  x\lleluias — "and  the  four-and- 
twenty  elders,"  saith  John,  "and  the  four  hving  crea- 
tures, fell  down,  and  worshipped  God,  that  sat  upon  the 
throne,  saying.  Amen  ;  Alleluia.  And  a  voice  came  out 
of  the  throne,  saying,  Praise  our  God  all  ye  his  servants, 
and  ye  that  fear  him  both  small  and  great.  And  I 
heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude,  and  as 
the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty 
ihunderings,  saying.  Alleluia ;  for  the  Lord  God  Omni- 
potent reigneth."* 

*  Rev.  xix.  4 — 6. 
13* 


150  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

UI.  Still,  the  millenarian  may  add,  Does  not  the  very 
necessity  for  such  a  conflict,  together  with  the  character 
of  the  parties,  and  the  numbers  who  will  join  in  it, 
indicate  that  the  previous  diffusion  of  the  Gospel  will 
have  proved,  in  its  spiritual  results,  a  comparative 
failure  ?  This,  we  are  aware,  is  your  inference.  But 
against  such  a  conclusion,  we  propose  to  adduce  a  fourth 
class  of  Sacred  Scriptures  which  clearly  predicts  that 
the  diffusion  of  the  Word  of  God  shall  be  attended 
with  the  most  glorious  resuhs. 

4.  And  here  we  might  first  refer  to  certain  prophecies 
which  foretell  that  even  during  an  era  of  great  judgments 
— in  one  of  the  very  crises  of  the  world's  tribulations — 
the  evangelization  and  salvation  of  mankind,  so  far  from 
being  arrested,  shall  proceed  and  triumph.  "For  when 
thy  judgments  are  in  the  earth,"  saith  the  prophet 
Isaiah,  "the  inhabitants  of  the  world  will  learn  right- 
eousness;"— thy  heaviest  inflictions  will  subserve  thy 
purposes  of  mercy  in  the  salvation  of  mankind. 

But  let  us  rather  direct  our  attention  to  a  small  selection 
of  those  prophecies  which  describe  the  future  enlarge- 
ment of  the  Church  as  the  result  of  Christian  teaching. 

"And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  that  the 
mountain  of  Jehovah's  house  shall  be  established  in  the 
top  [or,  as  the  chief,]  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be 
exalted  above  the  hills ;  and  all  the  nations  shall  flow 
unto  it.  Yea,  many  people  shall  go  and  say.  Come,  and 
let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of  Jehovah,  to  the  house 
of  the  God  of  Jacob  ;  that  he  may  teach  us  his  ways, 
and  that  we  may  walk  in  his  paths.  For  out  of  Zion 
shall  go  forth  the  law,  and  the  word  of  Jehovah  from 
Jerusalem.  And  he  shall  arbitrate  between  the  nations, 
and  dispense  justice  to  many  people :  so  that  they  shall 
beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares,  and  their  spears 
into  pruning-knives  :  nation  shall  not  lift  up  the  sword 
against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn  war  any  more."* 


*  Isaiah  ii.  2 — 4.    This  passage,  with  slight  verbal  differences,  is 
found  also  in  Micah  iv.  i — 3. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  151 

Here  the  Church  is  represented  as  being  central  and 
accessible  to  the  entire  race,  and  as  capable  of  receiving 
and  accomodating  a  worshipping  world,  as  the  temple 
on  Zion  had  been  to  the  tribes  of  Israel.  And  the 
points  to  be  particularly  remarked  are,  that,  of  the 
nations  thronging  to  it,  the  great  mass  has  been  influ- 
enced by  the  exhortation,  ''  Come,  and  let  us  go  up  to 
the  mountain  of  Jehovah  ;"  and  that  the  reason  which 
moves  the  world  towards  this  central  point  is,  that  ''  out 
of  Zion  shall  go  forth  the  law,  and  the  word  of  Jehovah 
from  Jerusalem" — that  through  the  appointed  instru- 
mentality of  the  Gospel,  they  hope  to  be  made  wise  unto 
salvation  ;  while  the  result  of  that  Divine  teaching  upon 
the  great  society  of  the  nations  is  to  be,  the  utter  abo- 
lition of  war,  the  cultivation  of  the  arts  of  peace,  and  the 
recognition  of  the  Divine  authority  as  universal  and 
supreme. 

On  another  occasion,*  the  prophet,  having  described 
the  peace  and  happiness  to  be  enjoyed  under  the  reign 
of  Messiah,  in  a  strain  surpassing  the  sublimest  notes  in 
which  the  classical  poets  celebrate  the  return  of  the 
golden  age,  adds,  in  explanation  of  the  glorious  change, 
"  For  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge!  of 
Jehovah,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea."  The  universal 
diffusion  of  that  knowledge  which  ''  is  life  eternal,"  is 
assigned  as  the  cause  of  the  happy  transformation. 

Now  if  to  these  bright  anticipations  it  should  be 
objected,  that  they  will  not  be  realized  till  after  the 
calling  and  conversion  of  the  Jews,  and  by  their  instru- 
mentality, we  might  content  ourselves  with  replying, 
that  the  question  pending  relates  not  to  the  specific 
personal  agency  by  which  these  prophecies  will  be  ful- 
filled, (though  even  granting  that  the  honour  is  reserved 
for  the  Jewish  nation,  the  objector  should  remember 
that,  according  to  his  own  supposition,  the  Jew  will 

*  Chap.  xi.  9. 

t  ^^^'"^T^^  '"^Jl  a  verbal  noun,  construed  as  an  infinitive ;  and, 
as  such,  denoting  the  mind  as  the  seat  of  the  knowledge,  and  the  ac- 
tivity of  the  mind  in  relation  to  it. 


152  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

then  have  become  a  Christian,  and  his  people  an  integral 
portion  of  the  Christian  Church,)  but  to  the  kind  of 
instrumentahty  by  which  the  world  is  to  be  evangelized. 
We  will,  however,  proceed  to  show  that  the  preaching 
of  the  Gospel  is  to  be  made  conducive  to  the  conversion 
of  the  Jews  themselves.  "  In  that  day,"  saith  God, 
"  will  I  raise  up  the  tabernacle  of  David  that  is  fallen, 
and  repair  the  breaches  thereof;  and  I  will  raise  up  its 
ruins,  and  I  will  build  it  as  in  the  days  of  old  ;  that  they 
may  possess  the  remnant  of  Edom,  and  of  all  the  heathen 
upon  whom  my  name  is  called,  saith  the  Lord  that  doeth 
this."*  Now  that  this  prediction  relates  partly  to  the 
conversion  of  the  Jews,  we  have  the  authority  of  St. 
James,  (Acts  xv.  15 — 17,)  "And  to  this  agree  the 
words  of  the  prophets  ;  as  it  is  written,"! — and  forth- 
with proceeds  to  quote  this  prophecy  from  Amos : 
evidently  taking  it  for  granted  that  the  ministry  of  the 
Gospel  w^ould  be  the  means  employed  by  God  for  re- 
building the  promised  tabernacle — for  that  ministry 
was  the  only  instrumentality  which  had  then  been 
appointed  and  employed  for  the  purpose^ — and  only 
cites  the  prophecy  to  show  that  it  was  clearly  the 
Divine  design  that  the  Gentiles  thus  converted,  should 
be  incorporated  in  the  same  Church  with  the  Jews. 

That  the  vision  of  the  valley  of  dry  bones  relates 
ultimately  to  times  yet  future,  may  be  seen  by  a  glance 
either  at  the  context  preceding  or  following. §  And  it 
can  hardly  be  necessary  to  show  how  strongly  confirma- 
tory that  vision  is  of  the  point  before  us.  When  the 
prophet  had  surveyed  the  dreary  Golgotha ;  and  beheld 
in  the  withered  fragments  of  mortality  with  which  it 
was  filled,  what  was,  and  what  would  be,   the  hopeless 

*  Amosix.  11,  12. 

f  The  quotation  is  not  made  literally  either  from  the  Hebrew  or 
from  the  Septuagint,  which  also  differs  from  the  Hebrew,  though  only 
in  letters  of  similar  form.  But  this  slight  difference  in  no  respect 
affects  the  question  before  us. 

X  Acts  ii.  37 ;  XV.  7,  14. 

<5>  Ezek.  xxxvi.  24 — 285  and  xxxvii.  14. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  153 

condition  of  his  people,  he  was  commanded  to  prophesy 
upon  these  dry  bones,  and  to  say  unto  them,  ''Oye  dry 
bones,  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord."  And  having 
dehveredto  them  that  word,  consisting  of  a  promise  of 
life  and  salvation,  he  is  next  commanded  to  prophesy  to 
the  wind,  and  to  say,  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God, 
Come  from  the  four  winds,  O  breath,  and  breathe  upon 
these  slain  that  they  may  live."  Li  other  words, 
having  preached  to  the  politically  and  spiritually  dead 
the  glad  tidings  of  deliverance,  and  invoked  on  them 
the  vital  influence  of  the  Spirit,  a  moral  resurrection 
ensued,  which  filled  the  valley  with  hfe  and  activity. 
It  follows,  then,  that  the  same  instrumentahty  will  be 
made  conducive  to  the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  which 
will  be  employed  with  success  for  the  conversion  of  the 
Gentiles — the  ministry  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

Accordingly,  we  might  specify  predictions  which 
contemplate  the  conversion  of  Jews  and  Gentiles  alike, 
through  this  ministry;  and  which  thus  unequivocally 
foretell  the  coming  salvation  of  the  world.  Such  is  the 
prediction  to  which  we  have  already  alluded  for  another 
purpose  in  the  book  of  Amos.  As  quoted  by  the 
apostle  James,  Acts  xv.  16  and  17,  it  evidently  imports 
that  the  tabernacle  of  David  is  to  be  rebuilt  expressly, 
"that  the  residue  of  men  might  seek  the  Lord."  By 
the  tabernacle  of  David  can  only  be  intended  the  Chris- 
tian Church;  for  what  other  tabernacle  had  then  begun 
to  be  reared  ?  and  yet  the  apostle  speaks  of  the  fact 
stated  by  Peter  that  "  some  time  before  God  had  chosen" 
him  as  the  instrument  by  whose  "mouth  the  Gentiles 
should  hear  the  word  of  the  Gospel  and  believe,"  as  a 
convincing  proof  that  the  promised  rebuilding  of  the 
spiritual  fabric  was  commenced.  And  this  Church,  he 
adds,  is  evidently  instituted  for  the  reception  and  salva- 
tion both  of  Jews  and  Gentiles.  But  in  what  con- 
ceivable manner  can  the  Church  of  Christ  answer  this 
high  design,  if  not  by  the  continued  diffusion  of  the 
same  blessed  Gospel  to  Jews  and  Gentiles  alike  ? 

Such,  too.  is  the  tenor  of  the  new  covenant,   Jer. 


154  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

xxxii.  31 — 34,  "  Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord, 
that  T  will  make  a  new  covenant  with  the  house  of 
Israel,  and  with  the  house  of  Judah ;  not   according  to 
the  covenant  that  I  made  with  their  fathers  in  the  day 
that  I  took  them  by  the  hand  to  bring  them  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt;  which  my  covenant  they  brake,  although 
I  was  a  husband  unto  them,   saith  the  Lord.     But  this 
shall  be  the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with  the  house  of 
Israel ;  after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  put  my 
law  in  their  inward  parts,   and  write  it  in  their  hearts  ; 
and  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people,  and 
they   shall   teach  no   more  every    man  his   neighbour, 
and  every  man  his  brother,  saying,  know  the  Lord  :   for 
they  shall  all  know  me  from  the  least  of  them  unto  the 
greatest  of   them,   saith  the  Lord  :    for  I  will  forgive 
their  iniquity,  and  I  will  remember  their  sin  no  more." 
On  the  authority  of  the  apostle  Paul,  (Heb.  viii.  8 — 13,) 
we  learn  that  this  new  covenant  is   the   dispensation  of 
the  Gospel.      The  houses  of  Israel  and  Judah,  therefore, 
to  whom  this   dispensation   is   sent,  cannot  be  supposed 
to  be  literally  and  exclusively   the  lineal  descendants  of 
Abraham,  but  his  spiritual  offspring  ;  for  it  is  the  pecu- 
liar glory  of  the   Gospel   that  in  contradistinction  from 
the  national  and  limited  economy  of  the  Jews,  h  bears 
an  aspect  of  benignity  equally  to  all  mankind.     Nor  will 
any  one   contend   that  until   the   Gospel  is  known  uni- 
versally, it  will  ever  cease  to  be  the  duty  of  Christians 
to  say  to  all  around  them,   "  Know  the  Lord ;"  or  that 
we  have  any  reason  to  expect  that  the  Bible  will  ever  be 
superseded  by  a  miraculous  dispensation  which  shall  flash 
divine   illumination  on  the  mind,  and  thus  raise  mankind 
above  the  use  of  means.     The  import  of  the  prediction 
appears   to   be  simply  this,   that  when  the  reproach  of 
indolence  shall  have  been  wiped  away  from  the  Church, 
and  every  man  shall  have  said  to  his  neighbour,  "Know 
the   Lord,"  the   reproach  of  ignorance  shall  be  wiped 
away  from   the   world ;    for  the   Spirit  of  God  will  so 
graciously  and  universally  bless  the  means  employed  as 
to  render  their  continuance  comparatively  unnecessary. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  155 

So  widely  will  the  Church,  aided  by  the  providential 
interpositions  of  her  exalted  Lord,  have  diffused  the 
knowledge  of  salvation,  and  so  abundantly  will  the  great 
renewing  spirit  have  crowned  it  with  success,  that 
efforts  to  diffuse  it  farther  will  be  superseded  ;  "for  I 
will  forgive  their  iniquity,  and  I  will  remember  their  sin 
no  more."  This  amnesty  from  Heaven  having  been 
universally  preached  and  received,  ''the  earth  shall  be 
filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  Jehovah,  as 
the  waters  cover  the  sea." 

5.  The  allusions  which  we  have  made  to  the  agency 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  remind 
us  of  another  class  of  predictions,  in  which  the  renova- 
tion of  the  world  is  ascribed  prospectively  to  his  trans- 
forming influence.  We  have  just  seen  that  the  new 
covenant  which  engages  to  impart  the  saving  knowledge 
of  God,  is  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and  that  consequently, 
the  promise  knows  no  limitation  of  place  or  people. 
But,  on  comparing  this  prediction  with  a  parallel  pro- 
phecy, in  Ezek.  xxxvi.  25 — 27,  which  declares,  "  Then 
will  I  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be 
clean  ',  and  I  will  put  my  spirit  within  you  and  cause 
you  to  walk  in  my  statutes,"  we  learn  that  the  agent 
employed  to  carry  into  effect  the  gracious  purposes  of 
the  Christian  economy  is  the  Holy  Spirit.  If  the  house 
of  Israel  is  to  experience  a  spiritual  resurrection,  it 
is  because  the  Spirit,  whose  emblem  is  the  wind,  will 
descend  on  the  moral  Golgotha,  and  replenish  it  with 
spiritual  life.  If  the  wilderness  of  the  Church  is  to 
be  a  fruitful  field,  and  the  fruitful  field  to  be  counted 
for  a  forest,  it  is  not  until  the  Spirit  be  poured  upon 
us  from  on  high.  If  the  world  is  to  be  convinced  of 
sin,  the  Spirit  alone  is  appointed  and  adequate  to  the 
ofKce.  But  the  only  medium  through  which  he  ope- 
rates in  the  discharge  of  his  office  is  that  of  the  truth; 
on  which  account  he  is  designated  by  Christ  himself, 
''  the  Spirit  of  truth."  The  Gospel  is  the  only  weapon 
he  employs  in  his  aggressions  on  the  territories  of  dark- 
ness, and  hence  it  is  called  "the  sword  of  the  Spirit." 


156  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUIVIENTALITY 

And  when  by  the  successful  employment  of  that  instru- 
ment, he  shall  have  convinced  the  world  of  sin,  and 
have  become  the  great  animating  spirit  of  mankind, 
that  which  he  has  promised  to  write  on  the  general 
heart  is,  the  "  laws"  of  God,  and  the  "  ways"  in  which 
he  will  cause  ihem  to  walk  are,  in  his  "  statutes."  So 
that,  when  at  length  he  shall  be  poured  out  upon  all 
flesh,  and  when,  as  the  one  soul  of  the  whole,  he  shall 
have  led  them  to  crown  the  Saviour  "  Lord  of  all,"  it 
will  be  found  that  no  moral  conquest  has  ever  been 
achieved  but  by  the  agency  of  the  Spirh,  and  that  in 
achieving  it,  no  weapon  has  ever  been  directly  employed 
but  the  Gospel — that,  from  first  to  last,  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit  was  never  laid  aside. 

Now  we  think  it  will  be  found  that  under  one  or 
other  of  these  five  classes,  every  prophecy  relative  to 
the  kingdom  of  Christ  on  earth,  may  find  an  appropriate 
place.  Whence  it  appears  to  follow,  that,  though  its 
progress  to  the  universality  and  glory  which  await  it, 
may  be  attended  by  a  series  of  providential  judgments, 
tliat  progress  will  be  made,  and  that  ultimate  glory 
attained,  by  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel  directed  and 
made  efficient  by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Let 
us  ''not,  then,  be  moved  away  from  the  hope  of  the 
Gospel,"  and  expect  that  judgments  and  providential 
occurrences  are  to  produce  effects  which  are  promised 
only  to  the  diffusion  of  the  word  of  God.  That  judg- 
ments will  accompany  and  pioneer  its  march  through 
the  earth,  as  they  ever  have  done,  we  freely  admit. 
But  they  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  forming  an  order 
of  means  distinct  from  the  gospel  economy,  and  supe- 
rior to  it.  They  wait  on  its  steps.  So  vast  is  that 
economy  in  its  sweep  and  design,  that  it  includes  and 
appropriates  every  kind  of  agency ;  presses  into  its 
service,  as  we  saw  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the  angel 
of  wrath,  as  well  as  employs  the  angel  of  mercy  ;  and 
lays  under  tribute  all  the  revolutions  of  time,  and  all 
the  dispensations  of  Providence.  In  those  events,  then, 
which  may  lead  others  to  say,  "  Lo,  here  is  Christ ;" 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  157 

or,  "  Lo,  there  is  Christ ;"  and  which  may  thus  distract 
attention  from  present  duty,  and  awaken  hopes  never 
to  be  realized,  we  are  to  recognize  only  a  call  to  greater 
diligence,  and  to  remember  that  if  we  would  apply  them 
to  their  proper  purpose,  we  must  study  to  render  them 
subservient  lo  the  diffusion  of  his  Gospel. 

We  admit,  also,  that,  at  times,  the  progress  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  may  be  too  slow  for  our  impatience, 
and  may  seem  to  postpone  its  consummation  to  a  hope- 
less distance.  But  let  us  remember  that  He  can  afford 
to  wait.  Had  he  any  occasion  to  doubt  the  issue, 
he  might  be  induced  at  times  to  precipitate  the  end. 
But  'Mie  seeth  the  end  from  the  beginning" — sees  it 
so  clearly,  and  awaits  it  so  confidently,  that  his  patience 
emphatically  announces  the  efficiency  of  his  government. 

And  not  only  do  impending  judgements  call  for  the 
diligence  of  the  Church,  and  proclaim  the  efficiency 
of  the  Divine  administration,  they  indicate  also  the 
surpassing  claims  of  that  dispensation  on  whose  account 
they  are  to  be  made  to  impend.  Had  the  final  suffi- 
ciency of  the  Gospel  economy  been  doubtful,  we  may 
warrantably  suppose  that  many  of  the  Divine  disclosures 
of  coming  terrors  would  have  been  graciously  withheld. 
Their  unreserved  disclosure  is  a  certain  pledge  of  its 
constant  progress  and  eventual  triumph.  The  eye  of 
faith  can  only  behold  in  the  awful  pomp  and  grandeur 
of  the  future,  the  indication  of  its  greatness,  and  the 
celebration  of  its  triumphs. 

IV.  Now  if  the  conclusion  to  which  we  have  come  be 
scriptural,  we  may  take  it  for  granted  that  it  will  bear 
to  be  subjected  to  certain  appropriate  tests  ;  and  that 
the  result  of  such  an  ordeal  can  only  tend  to  illustrate 
and  confirm  the  truth. 

1.  If  it  be  a  doctrine  of  prophecy,  that  the  diffusion 
of  the  Gospel  is  to  be  the  grand  instrument  in  the  hand 
of  God  for  the  conversion  of  the  world,  may  we  not 
expect  that  other  departments  of  Holy  Scripture  will  be 
found  to  contain  allusions  and  statements  corroboratire 
14 


158  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

of  the  doctrine  ?  May  we  not  expect,  for  example, 
that  the  apostles  have  left  on  record  some  indications, 
however  incidental,  that  they  interpreted  ancient  pro- 
phecy in  the  manner  supposed  ?  Accordingly,  we  find 
that  such  indications  actually  exist.  The  application 
which  St.  James  makes  of  the  prophecy  of  Amos,  to 
which  attention  has  already  been  called,  is  precisely 
on  this  principle,  and  might  properly  be  regarded  as 
supplying  the  legitimate  key  to  all  those  figurative 
predictions  of  the  Gospel  dispensation  which  employ 
language  drawn  from  the  Jewish  economy.  Had 
Isaiah  predicted  that  Christ  should  "  be  given  for  a 
light  to  the  Gentiles  ?"  "  Lo,  we  turn  to  the  Gentiles," 
said  Paul  and  Barnabas,  "  for  so  hath  the  Lord  com- 
manded us,  saying,  I  have  set  thee  to  be  a  light  of 
the  Gentiles,  that  thou  shouldest  be  for  salvation  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth."*  Whence  we  learn,  first,  that  they 
inferred  the  prophecy  was  to  be  fulfilled,  and  the 
world  to  be  enlightened,  by  the  publication  of  the 
Gospel,  for  this  was  the  only  instrumentality  they 
employed.  And,  secondly,  that  so  coincident  in  their 
view  was  the  spirit  of  the  prophecy  with  the  spirit  of 
the  apostolic  commission,  tliat  they  regarded  the  pre- 
diction as  equivalent  in  meaning  to  a  Divine  command 
to  preach  the  Gospel. 

Had  the  prophet  Joel  announced  that  during  the 
'Mast  days  whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  saved?"  "How  then  shall  they  call 
upon  him  in  whom  they  have  not  believed  ?"  inquires 
the  apostle  Paul  ;f  "  and  how  shall  they  believe  in 
him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard  ?  and  how  shall 
they  hear  without  a  preacher  ?  and  how  shall  they 
preach  except  they  be  sent  ?"  By  putting  the  necessity 
of  preaching  the  gospel  in  this  interrogatory  form,  he 
would  impress  us  in  the  most  emphatic  manner  that 
there  is  no  other  conceivable  instrumentality  by  which 
the  Gentiles  can  be  saved. 

*  Acts  xiii.  46,  47.  f  Rom.  x.  14,  15. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  159 

And,  had  "the  voice  of  him  that  crieth  in  the 
wilderness"  announced,  "  All  flesh  is  grass,  and  all  the 
goodliness  thereof  is  as  the  flower  of  the  field ;  .  .  . 
the  grass  withereih,  the  flower  fadeth,  but  the  word 
of  our  God  shall  stand  for  ever  ?"  "  This  is  the 
word,"  says  the  apostle  Peter,*  "which  by  the  gospel 
is  preached  unto  you  ;"  plainly  implying  that,  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  instability  of  all  things  human,  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  Gospel  is  to  last  for  ever ;  and  that, 
in  defiance  of  all  the  hostility  of  earth,  it  is  to  continue 
as  the  great  and  only  principle  of  the  world's  regene- 
ration. Were  it  possible  that  the  present  economy 
should  be  suspended  or  terminated  before  the  world 
is  saved,  all  hope  of  human  recovery  would  perish. 
Man  would  behold  the  only  rock  on  which  his  hope 
can  anchor  sink  in  a  shoreless  and  tempestuous  sea. 
For  amidst  the  ceaseless  whirl  and  disappearance  of 
every  thing  around  him,  the  only  ground  of  hope  for 
the  future  which  God  himself  has  supplied  consists, 
according  to  this  apostle,  in  the  sufficiency  and  perpe- 
tuity of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

2.  May  we  not  expect  to  find  that  the  cheering 
anticipation  of  a  w'orld  reclaimed  by  the  sanctified 
diffusion  of  the  Gospel  would  lead  "holy  men  of  God" 
to  give  utterance  to  corresponding  desires  in  prayer  ? 
The  expectation  is  not  disappointed.  The  psalmist 
prayed,!  "  That  thy  way  may  be  known  upon  earth, 
and  thy  saving  health  among  all  nations ;"  that  the 
healing  influence  of  Divine  revelation,  like  a  heavenly 
current  of  vital  air,  might  sweep  over  the  spiritual 
sickness  of  the  world,  and  impart  to  it  health,  and 
vigour,  and  happiness.  And  as  he  regarded  the 
knowledge  of  God  as  the  only  remedy  of  the  world's 
misery,  so  he  appears  to  have  taken  it  for  granted 
that  the  prosperity  of  the  Church  would  be  marked 
by  the  difliision  of  that  knowledge,  and  that  such 
diffusion    would    be    attended    with    the   most  happy 

*  1  Pet.  i.  24,  25.  f  Psa.  Ixvii. 


160  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

results.  *' God  shall  bless  us,"  he  adds,  **and  all  the 
ends  of  the  earth  shall  fear  him  :"  the  leaven  of  his 
grace  shall  work  from  his  Church  outwards,  till  the 
entire  mass  of  humanity  be  leavened ;  his  kingdom 
shall  extend  on  every  side  till  it  embraces  the  world. 
But  the  language  of  Christ  himself  on  this  subject 
is  conclusive.*  ^'  When  he  saw  the  multitudes  he 
was  moved  with  compassion  on  them,  because  ihey 
fainted,  and  were  scattered  abroad,  as  sheep  having  no 
shepherd.  Then  saith  he  to  his  disciples,  The  harvest 
truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  labourers  are  few  :  pray  ye 
therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  he  will  send 
forth  labourers  into  his  harvest."  That  this  was  not 
a  duty  binding  only  on  those  immediately  addressed 
is  evident,  for  the  reason  of  the  command  is  laid  in 
the  destitute  condition  of  the  multitudes.  As  long, 
therefore,  as  it  is  true  that  any  portion  of  mankind 
are  perishing  "as  sheep  having  no  shepherd,"  it  will 
continue  to  be  the  duty  of  Christians  to  pray  that 
shepherds  may  be  provided  for  them.  And  as  long  as 
any  disproportion  remains  between  the  vast  harvest  of 
souls  to  be  gathered  into  the  garner  of  Christ,  and  the 
number  of  labourers  employed,  it  will  ever  be  impera- 
tive on  the  Church  to  repeat  the  cry  for  an  increase  of 
Christian  instrumentality.  The  language  of  Christ  thus 
plainly  implies,  that  the  harvest  of  the  world  is  to  be 
reaped  by  the  agency  of  his  people ;  and  that  in  pro- 
portion as  that  agency  is  increased  under  his  super- 
intendance,  will  be  the  extent  of  harvest  saved. 

And  still  more  to  the  purpose,  if  possible,  is  the 
language  of  Christ  in  his  intercessory  prayer:  "Neither 
pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for  them  also  who  shall 
believe  on  me  through  their  word  ;  that  they  all  may 
be  one — that  the  world  may  believe  that  thou  has  sent 
me ;"  leaving  us  to  the  necessary  inference,  first,  that 
the  only  way  in  which  the  Church  is  to  look  for  additions, 
is  by  men  being  brought  to   believe  the  Gospelj  for  if 

*  Matt.  ix.  36—38. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  161 

any  are  to  be  converted  otherwise,  for  such  the  Saviour 
did  not  pray.  And,  secondly,  that  as  often  as  such 
additions  are  made  they  are  to  unite  with  the  great  body 
of  the  faithful  for  the  conversion  of  others,  and  thus  to 
proceed  till  the  world  is  saved. 

3.  May  we  not  expect,  farther,  that  if  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  on  earth  is  to  be  set  up  by  means  of  his  de- 
pendent but  devoted  subjects,  the  result  will  be  attained 
gradually  as  opposed  to  suddenly ;  and  that,  in  order  to 
correct  and  guide  our  expectations,  scriptural  intima- 
tions will  be  afforded  that  progressiveness  will  be  one 
of  the  characteristics  of  the  work  ?  Analogy,  indeed, 
might  lead  us  to  expect  this ;  for  progress  is  one  of  the 
distinctive  features  of  all  the  Divine  operations  in  nature 
and  providence.  But  here,  where  the  agency  to  be 
employed  is  human,  it  appears  unavoidable.  For  the 
eminent  piety  of  the  individual  Christian,  and  the  union 
and  devotedness  of  the  collective  Church— the  twofold 
element  of  instrumental  fitness  requisite  for  the  conversion 
of  mankind — can  only  result  from  a  prolonged  course  of 
Divine  discipline.  Accordingly,  the  various  imagery 
under  which  the  dissemination  of  Christianity  is  repre- 
sented in  the  word  of  God,  is  remarkable  for  the  uniform 
manner  in  which  it  preserves  this  characteristic  of  pro- 
gressiveness. If  Ezekiel  beheld  it  in  the  living  stream 
which  flowed  from  the  sanctuary,  he  saw  that  stream 
deepen  and  widen  in  its  onward  course,  till  "the  waters 
were  risen,  waters  to  swim  in,  a  river  that  could  not  be 
passed  over."  If  Daniel  was  instructed  to  recognize, 
in  "a  stone  cut  out  without  hands,"  an  emblem  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ ;  the  mysterious  manner  in  which  it 
became  enlarged,  and  occupied  province  after  province, 
till  it  ''filled  the  whole  earth,"  strikingly  represented  the 
growth  of  that  spiritual  empire  which  is  destined  to 
*'  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all"  hostile  power,  and 
to  "stand  for  ever."  If  the  Sovereign  himself  of  that 
kingdom  selects  appropriate  emblems  of  its  progress, 
he  finds  them  in  the  growth  of  the  mustard-seed,  and 
in  the  diffusive  influence  of  the  leaven.     Not,   indeed, 


162  '  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

that  in  its  progress  to  perfection  it  will  be  entirely 
exempted  from  external  shocks.  Like  the  earthly  em- 
pires which  it  is  destined  finally  to  absorb,  its  affairs  may 
often  approach  a  crisis  which  may  appear  to  threaten 
its  existence.  But,  true  to  the  emblems  by  which  our 
Lord  represents  it,  its  history  will  eventually  exhibit 
the  threefold  characteristic,  of  original  insignificance, 
constant  though  often  imperceptible  progress,  crowned 
with  ultimate  greatness  and  universal  power. 

4.  But  what  appropriate  test  of  the  truth  of  the 
doctrine  can  we  look  for  in  Scripture  without  readily 
finding  it  ?  Is  it  an  express  command  on  the  subject  ? 
We  possess  it  in  the  final  command  of  Christ  to  his 
servants,  to  "  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  Is 
it  a  promise  of  Divine  assistance  and  success  in  obeying 
this  command  ?  We  have  it  in  the  promise  which 
accompanies  it,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world,"  for  the  context  implies  and  re- 
quires a  promise,  not  so  much  of  protection  in  danger,  as 
of  success  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  object  proposed; 
so  that  the  command  and  promise  combined  may  be 
regarded  as  the  great  Missionary  charter  of  the  Church 
for  all  time ;  securing  to  his  devoted  servants  in  every 
age,  a  measure  of  success  proportioned  to  their  zeal  for 
his  glory. 

V.  It  remains,  then,  in  the  next  place,  that  we  harmon- 
ize the  whole  with  the  chapters  which  have  gone  before. 
And  here  our  course  is  loo  obvious  to  be  mistaken. 
For,  if  the  object  of  the  first  chapter  was  to  unfold  that 
Scripture  theory  of  influence  by  which  Christian  is  to 
be  united  to  Christian,  and  Church  to  Church,  and  the 
whole  to  be  subordinated  to  the  agency  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  for  the  recovery  of  the  world,  we  have  seen  that 
prophecy  points  to  the  same  comprehensive  arrangement 
for  the  same  exalted  issue.  Indeed,  that  sublime  pro- 
phecy of  Christ  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  sum  of 
the  whole  of  unfulfilled  prediction  relative  to  his  king- 
dom on  earth. — *'  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth, 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  163 

will  draw  all  men  unto  me" — may  be  regarded  also  as 
the  sum  of  the  theory  of  spiritual  instrumentality.  For 
not  only  does  it  predict  the  manner  of  man's  recovery, 
by  the  attracting  and  saving  influence  of  the  Cross  ;  but 
it  obviously  implies  that  all  the  influences  of  the  Church 
are  to  be  subordinated  to  that  central  power,  till  all 
the  agencies  and  powers  of  earth  are  entirely  in  unison 
with  it.  And  if  the  object  of  the  second  chapter  was 
to  show  that  the  whole  tenor  of  Scripture  command 
and  example  on  the  subject,  and  the  entire  consthution 
of  the  mediatorial  economy,  including  all  holy  power  in 
heaven  and  earth,  form  but  one  loud  practical  call  on 
Christians  to  unreserved  consecration  ;  we  have  seen 
that  prophecy  is  only  the  voice  of  that  future  which  is 
included  in  the  same  economy,  chiming  in  with  the 
voice  of  the  past  and  the  present,  and  calling  louder 
still  for  the  same  consecration. 

Are  we  tempted  to  apprehend,  for  instance,  that 
the  Christian  Church  exhausted  its  energies  in  its 
first  days,  and  can  never  again  expect  to  see  them 
repeated  ?  Prophecy  points  us  aloft  to  an  emblem 
of  the  present,  and,  behold,  an  angel  comes  speeding 
through  the  vault  of  heaven,  having  the  everlasting 
Gospel  to  preach  to  all  the  dwellers  on  earth — telling 
us  of  facilities  for  its  propagation  yet  to  appear,  of 
resources  in  the  Church  yet  to  be  developed,  and  of 
unexampled  triumphs  in  the  world  yet  to  be  won. 
Do  we  entertain  a  fear  that  the  hostility  of  the  world 
will  cloud  our  prospect  and  arrest  our  progress  ?  In 
the  visions  of  prophecy  we  behold  another  mighty 
angel  casting  a  millstone  into  the  sea,  and  crying, 
"Thus  Babylon  is  fallen,  is  fallen;"  and  another 
drying  up  the  Euphrates  of  Mahometan  power ;  and 
another,  binding  Apollyon  himself  in  the  chain  of 
God's  decrees,  and  casting  him  down  into  his  own 
pit.  The  mountain  full  of  horses  and  chariots  of 
fire  round  about  Elisha,  which  burst  on  the  opened 
eyes  of  his  servant,  is  tameness  itself  compared  with 
the   visioft   of    the   future   to   which    prophecy   points 


164  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUaiENTALITY 

the  Church — all  heaven  marshalled  and  occupied  in 
removing  every  conceivable  obstacle  to  the  free  and 
universal  diffusion  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

At  no  period  of  the  past,  probably,  could  our 
eyes  have  been  opened  to  the  reality  of  supernatural 
agency  in  the  Church,  without  beholding  the  sublime 
spectacle  of  "  the  angels  of  God  ascending  and  descend- 
ing" in  its  service,  or  arrayed  in  its  defence.  But,  as 
if  the  active  share  they  have  hitherto  taken  in  its 
affairs  were  as  nothing  when  compared  with  that  which 
devolves  on  them  during  "the  time  of  the  end,"  the 
successive  scenes  of  Apocalyptic  vision  are  crowded 
with  their  numbers  and  distinguished  by  their  agency. 
Is  it  that  as  that  time  approaches  its  close,  and  events 
rush  to  their  final  result,  they  will  take  a  more 
intense  interest  in  the  issue  ?  Or  is  it  that  the  ranks 
of  the  Church  triumphant  will  be  allowed  to  draw 
nearer  to  those  of  the  Church  militant,  and  more  fre- 
quently to  mingle  and  make  common  cause,  prepara- 
tory to  their  complete  and  everlasting  juncture  in 
heaven  ?  However  this  may  be,  should  not  the  pro- 
phetic vision  of  their  winged  activity  and  flaming 
zeal,  kindle  the  fire  of  a  holy  and  consuming  emula- 
tion in  the  Church  below  ?  "A  great  nation,"  it  was 
lately  said  by  a  high  political  authority — "A  great 
nation  cannot  have  a  little  war."  The  Church  of 
Christ  is  militant ;  and,  considering  the  object  of  its 
contest,  the  character  of  its  spiritual  allies  and  re- 
sources, the  divinity  of  hs  Leader,  and  the  grandeur 
of  its  destiny,  it  absorbs  all  the  spiritual  and  created 
greatness  of  the  universe ;  and  should  it  be  satisfied 
with  a  httle  war .''  Should  not  every  blast  of  the 
Apocalyptic  trumpet  ring  through  the  Church  as  a 
summons  to  universal  action  ^  and  every  soldier  of 
the  Christian  army  demean  himself  as  if  an  angel 
fought  at  his  side,  and  infinite  issues  were  waiting 
the  result  ^  Do  we  ask  to  look  beyond  the  conflict, 
and  see  its  final  results  .''  They  have  been  seen ;  and 
the  eyes  that  gazed  on  thera,  though  closing  in  death, 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  165 

beamed  and  brightened  with  the  reflected  glory. 
They  have  been  sung ;  and  they  who  sang  them  may 
be  regarded  as  having  lived  for  this  as  for  their 
highest  earthly  end ;  and  while  they  sang,  angels  have 
hushed  the  music  of  their  harps  to  listen  to  the  strain. 
And  still  it  is  the  office  of  prophecy  to  point  out 
these  results  to  the  eye  of  faith.  But  what  is  the 
form  in  which  we  would  see  them?  for  ''in  the 
visions  of  the  Lord"  they  have  been  made  to  assume 
every  hue  of  beauty,  every  character  of  greatness, 
every  aspect  of  glory.  Is  it  that  of  a  stone  instinct 
with  life,  and  growing  as  it  rolls  by  an  invisible  power, 
till  it  fills  the  earth?  Prophecy  conducts  us  to  an 
elevation  where  we  behold  that  mystic  stone  in  motion. 
Already  has  it  attained  the  magnitude  of  a  mountain, 
and  attracts  the  eyes  of  the  nations.  Now  it  moves, 
and  all  things  vibrate  at  its  approach.  Now  it  is 
arrested  by  an  obstacle  which  appears  insuperable ;  but 
still  its  base  expands,  and  its  head  towers  higher. 
Again  it  moves,  and  the  obstacle  that  opposed  it  is 
"ground  to  powder."  Onwards  it  rolls  through  islands 
and  continents,  scattering  from  its  sides  the  seeds  and 
fertility  of  a  new  creation,  and  pouring  from  its  bosom 
the  streams  of  the  water  of  life.  It  touches  another 
province,  and  is  resisted  on  the  very  shores.  But 
vain  is  the  opposition,  i^fter  the  pause  of  a  moment 
— the  falling  of  idols  and  shrines  announces  that  it 
is  again  in  motion.  Even  while  we  have  been  de- 
scribing its  progress,  it  has  continued  to  swell  and 
enlarge.  Like  the  Andes  to  South  America,  it  is 
seen  from  every  quarter;  and,  with  the  light  of  an 
unsetting  sun  resting  on  its  summit,  and  the  nations 
collecting  at  its  foot,  it  forms  the  only  object  of  true 
sublimity  the  earth  contains. 

Is  it  a  temple  ?  Now,  it  is  only  in  the  course  of 
erection ;  and  we  find  ourselves  standing  amidst  the 
apparent  confusion  of  the  surrounding  materials ; 
while  many  of  the  labourers  are  away  preparing  the 
^*  living  stones ;"  and  the  great  majority  of  the  race 


166  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

are  bowing  at  idolatrous  shrines,  and  worshipping  an 
unknown  God.  But  prophecy  takes  us  to  a  mount 
of  vision,  and,  lo !  the  stupendous  fabric,  ample  as 
the  earth,  silently  rising  towards  heaven  ;  the  pedi- 
ment placed  on  the  columns,  the  edifice  crowned  with 
its  dome,  and  all  nations  flowing  unto  it  !  And  while 
we  are  looking,  they  suddenly  recover  from  their 
breathless  admiration  of  iis  magnitude,  proportions, 
and  glories,  to  burst  forth  into  that  anthem  of  praise 
with  which  the  universe  and  eternity  are  destined  to 
resound. 

Is  it  the  achievement  of  a  conquest,  and  the  erec- 
tion of  a  kingdom  ?  ''  The  God  of  heaven  shall  set  up 
a  kingdom  which  shall  never  be  destroyed."  When  we 
read  the  history  of  an  earthly  power  we  are  constrained 
to  admire  the  march  of  events  by  which  it  attains  to 
national  greatness.  As  its  population  multiplies  and 
its  boundaries  enlarge,  battles  are  fought,  and  victories 
won.  Its  times  of  excitement  develop  greatness  of  cha- 
racter, and  that  greatness  of  character  impresses  its 
image  on  the  times.  But  how  effectually  is  all  this  glory 
eclipsed  when  brought  into  contrast  with  the  progress  of 
the  kingdom  of  Christ !  Here  the  field  is  the  world, 
while  every  object  in  it  is  a  weapon,  every  being  it  con- 
tains is  in  action,  and  every  issue  depending  is  eternal. 
In  this  strife  already  kingdoms  have  been  subverted, 
and  generations  have  been  engaged  !  Who  does  not 
pant  to  gain  a  height  whence  he  can  look  down  and 
survey  its  progress  .''  To  such  a  point  does  prophecy 
conduct  us.  Even  while  we  look,  the  charge  is 
sounded,  and  the  onset  made.  Far  and  wide  the  con- 
flict rages.  Banner  after  banner  joins  the  foe  :  tribe 
after  tribe  comes  "  out  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to 
the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty."  Victory 
seems  to  alternate  from  side  to  side.  Now  the  soldiers 
of  the  cross  give  way,  "  as  when  a  standard-bearer 
fainteth ;"  and  now,  raise  a  shout  of  joy  as  they  plant 
their  standard  on  some  fallen  fortress  of  Satan.  Here, 
*'  the  Captain  of  salvation"  sends  them  unexpected  sup- 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  167 

port  ;  and  there  "  his  right  hand  teaches  him  terrible 
things."  Leading  them  on  from  "  conquering  to  con- 
quer," opposition  gradually  slackens  ;  '•'■  the  armies  of 
the  aliens"  are  put  to  flight,  or  yield  themselves  willing 
captives.  The  earth  with  joy  receives  her  King  ;  and 
his  kingdom  of  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  em- 
braces the  world. 

Is  the  aspect  under  which  we  would  look  on  the 
results  of  spiritual  agency  that  of  a  new  creation  ? 
"  He  that  sat  upon  the  throne  said.  Behold,  I  make 
all  things  new."  Even  now  the  Spirit  is  moving  on 
the  face  of  the  human  chaos.  Fiat  after  fiat  goes  forth  ; 
and  what  light  breaks  in  on  the  darkness  of  ages  ; 
what  mighty  masses  of  humanity  are  uplifting  them- 
selves in  solemn  majesty,  like  primitive  mountains 
rising  from  the  deep  ;  what  more  than  verdant  beauty 
clothes  the  moral  landscape ;  how  gloriously  dawns 
the  sabbath  of  the  world  !  Where  now  is  the  mid- 
night gloom  of  ignorance  and  idolatry  ?  the  desola- 
tions and  misery  attendant  on  sin  }  We  look,  and 
listen,  but  no  reign  of  darkness,  no  habitation  of 
cruelty,  no  sound  of  anguish  remains !  The  will  of 
God  IS  done  on  earth,  as  it  is  done  in  heaven  !  The 
nations  own  no  other  law ;  and  hence  their  aspect 
is  that  of  a  happy  family.  The  Church  aims  at  no 
other  end  ;  and  hence  all  her  members  are  invested 
with  the  garments  of  salvation  and  the  robes  of  praise. 
The  world  is  bathed  in  the  light  of  peace,  and  purity, 
and  love.  Inanimate  nature  itself  partakes  of  the 
general  joy.  To  the  eye  of  renewed  man  it  exhibits 
a  beauty  unknown  before,  and  to  his  ear  it  brings 
lessons  of  surpassing  wisdom.  Trees  wave  with  glad- 
ness, and  the  floods  clap  their  hands ;  the  light  of  the 
moon  is  as  the  light  of  the  sun,  and  the  light  of  the  sun 
is  sevenfold.  Over  that  scene,  the  morning  stars  sing 
together,  and  the  sons  of  God  shout  for  joy  :  while  the 
Divine  Creator  himself  complacently  beholds  it,  and 
proclaims  it  good. 

Or,  finally,  would  we  contemplate  the  result  of  the 


168  CHKISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

whole  in  heaven  ?  Then  must  we  take  up  a  position 
from  which  we  can  behold  the  closing  scenes  of  time, 
and  the  opening  grandeurs  of  eternity ;  the  coming  of 
Christ,  the  pomp  and  ministry  of  his  attendant  angels, 
the  resurrection  of  tiie  dead,  the  awful  solemnities  of 
the  judgment  day.  With  the  prophet  of  Patmos,  we 
must  mark  the  numbers  of  those  who  go  away  into 
everlasting  life,  and  learn  their  songs  ;  we  must  try  to 
estimate  their  joy  when  they  cast  their  crowns  at  the 
feet  of  infinite  love,  and  to  multiply  its  amount  by 
the  ages  of  eternity. 

True,  these  are  visions ;  but  they  are  visions  painted 
by  the  hand  of  God  ;  dear  in  every  age  to  the  Church 
of  God  ;  gazed  on  in  death  by  the  Son  of  God.  Yes, 
then  they  were  brought  and  set  before  him  ;  and  such 
was  the  joy  with  which  they  filled  him,  that  he  en- 
dured the  Cross,  despising  the  shame.  He  saw  that 
stone  advance ;  that  temple  rise ;  that  kingdom  come ; 
that  new  creation  dawn ;  that  beatitude  of  the  re- 
deemed in  heaven — his  grace  the  theme  of  every 
tongue,  his  glory  the  object  of  every  eye.  He  saw  of 
the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  was  satisfied — his  soul  was 
satisfied.  Even  in  the  hour  of  its  travail  it  was 
satisfied.  What  an  unlimited  vision  of  happiness  must 
it  have  been — happiness  not  bounded  by  time,  but 
filling  the  expanse  of  eternity !  His  prophetic  eye, 
even  then,  caught  a  view  of  the  infinite  result  in 
heaven.  His  ear  caught  the  far  distant  shout  of  his 
redeemed  and  glorified  Church,  singing,  "Worthy  is 
the  Lamb  that  was  slain,"  And  if  we  would  do 
justice  to  our  office  as  instruments  for  the  salvation  of 
the  world,  if  we  would  catch  the  true  inspiration  of 
our  work,  we  too  must  often  cross,  as  he  did,  the 
threshold  of  eternity,  transport  ourselves  ten  thou- 
sand ages  hence  into  the  blessedness  of  heaven,  and 
behold  the  fruits  of  our  instrumentality  there,  still 
adding  new  joy  to  angels,  and  new  tides  of  glory 
around  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb. 

What  other  practical   purpose,    indeed,    can   these 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  169 

prophetic  disclosures,  at  present,  answer  ?  Or  to 
what  higher  end  can  they  be  applied  ?  If  the  progress 
of  the  Gospel,  and  its  happy  results,  assume  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  mountain  ever  moving  onwards,  and 
ever  growing  as  it  moves,  displacing  or  crushing  every 
obstacle,  and  filling  the  whole  earth  with  its  presence 
— what  does  it  say  to  our  inactivity,  but  that  we 
must  advance  along  with  it,  or  be  annihilated  by  it  ? 
And  what  does  it  say  to  our  fears  of  opposition  and 
failure,  but  that  we  may  give  them  all  to  the  wind  ? 
If,  for  the  same  end,  a  temple  rises  whose  courts 
include  a  worshipping  world,  and  whose  incense  of 
praise  perfumes  the  universe,  what  is  the  language 
in  which  it  addresses  us  but  that  of  David  in  the 
prospect  of  erecting  its  ancient  type,  "And  who  then 
is  willing  to  consecrate  his  service  this  day  unto  the 
Lord  ?"  If  the  Church  appear  in  conflict  with  the 
world,  and  triumphant  over  it,  why  are  we  allowed 
to  look  on  the  stirring  scene  but  that  we  may  catch 
the  ardour  of  the  Christian  hero  ;  may  mark  how 
certainly  every  one  that  is  not  for  Christ  is  against 
him,  how  necessarily  inactivity  in  his  cause  produces 
the  effect,  and  receives  the  punishment  of  positive  hos- 
tility ;  may  be  excited  to  endure  hardship  and  to 
aspire  to  the  glorious  deeds  of  good  soldiers  of  Jesus 
Christ  ?  If  the  splendours  of  a  new  creation  burst 
on  our  view,  why  is  it  but  that  we  may  feel  a  pang 
of  solicitude  for  the  groans  and  travails  of  the  old  ? 
Why  but  that  we  may  remember  that  we  are  living 
during  the  work-days  of  the  mighty  process  ;  and  that 
he  who  commanded  the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness 
hath  issued  the  fiat  to  us,  "Let  your  light  shine  before 
men ;  go  into  all  the  world  and  diffuse  it  ?"  Each 
stage  of  the  material  creation  was  wisely  adapted  to 
prepare  the  way  for  that  which  succeeded.  All  its 
unfinished  parts  reciprocated  their  influence,  pointed 
to  that  which  was  to  follow,  and  craved  and  tended  to 
a  perfect  whole.  Light  was  given  to  the  sun  to  be 
dispensed ;  and  he  fulfilled  the  law  of  his  being,  and 
15 


170  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

thus  prepared  the  way  for  other  and  higher  being.  Had 
he  been  endowed  with  intelligence  and  responsible 
power,  and  had  he,  in  the  exercise  of  that  power, 
retracted  his  beams  and  refused  to  shine,  how  enor- 
mous the  guilt,  how  fearful  the  result !  In  the  process 
of  the  new  creation,  the  darkness  has  passed  away, 
and  the  light  of  salvation  has  come — light  in  the  pre- 
sence of  which  all  material  splendour  is  eclipsed  and 
disappears.  That  light  has  been  given  to  us  in  a  sense 
which  justifies  its  Author  in  saying,  "Ye  are  the 
light  of  the  world ;"  and  given  to  us  with  a  solemn 
charge  that  we  so  dispense  it  as  that  the  world  may 
rejoice  in  its  beams.  To  withhold  our  light,  then,  is 
to  contract  guilt  of  a  magnitude  never  to  be  computed. 
Or  if,  while  we  are  asking,  "What  shall  the  end  of 
these  things  be  .f"'  we  are  answered  by  the  sight  of  num- 
bers without  number  waving  their  victorious  palms,  and 
by  the  voices  of  all  these,  joined  by  the  hosts  of 
the  unfallen,  in  one  stupendous  concert  of  praise — who 
does  not  hear  above  this  "sound  of  many  waters," 
the  voice  which  says,  "Be  thou  faithful  unto  death, 
and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life."  "  They  that  be 
wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament, 
and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars 
for  ever  and  ever." 

And  is  this  the  lofty  practical  purpose  of  prophecy  ? 
And  are  these  our  inducements  to  proceed  in  the 
diffusion  of  the  Gospel  ?  Then  ought  they  not  to  be 
felt  by  us  at  this  moment  with  as  much  freshness  and 
force  as  if  they  had  opened  on  us  now  for  the  first 
time  ?  Suppose  this  were  literally  the  fact.  Had 
prophetic  visions,  like  those  we  have  considered,  never 
as  yet  been  vouchsafed  to  us ;  had  the  Christian  Church 
commenced  its  Missionary  operations  simply  in  obedi- 
ence to  what  it  supposed  to  be  the  unuttered  will  of 
God ;  had  it  assembled  by  its  representatives  to  con- 
sult on  the  propriety  of  continuing  those  operations ; 
had  a  spirit  of  indolence  or  despondency  seized  it, 
and  a  disposition  to   wait  for  some  Divine   intimation 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  171 

before  it  advanced  any  farther ;  had  it  wrestled  in 
prayer  for  such  an  intimation ;  and  if,  while  its  mem- 
bers were  thus  ''with  one  accord  in  one  place,"  there 
had  suddenly  come  "a  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a 
rushing  mighty  wind,"  filling  all  the  place ;  had 
Isaiah  come  and  sung  the  glory  of  the  latter  days ; 
had  Daniel  shown  them  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah 
enlarging  and  absorbing  all  earthly  power ;  had  John 
recounted  the  scenes  of  Patmos ;  and  had  He  who 
sent  his  angel  there  to  interpret  them,  again  ap- 
peared, commanding  them  to  hasten  away  whh  his 
Gospel  into  all  the  world,  promising  to  be  always 
with  them,  and  assuring  them  of  "floods"  of  spiritual 
influence  yet  to  be  poured  out  upon  all  flesh — whose 
zeal  would  not  kindle  and  burn  ?  Whose  purpose 
would  not  catch  a  measure  of  Divine  greatness  ? 
Whose  hps  would  not  be  ready  to  exclaim,  ''Here 
am  I,  send  me  ?"  As  if  such  a  vision  had  just  tran- 
spired, let  us  aim  to  realize  its  inspiring  motives ;  and 
every  Christian  will  be  transformed,  in  effect,  into  a 
prophet,  "crying.  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord, 
make  his  paths  straight." 

Thus,  if  the  first  chapter  explains  the  Scripture 
theory  of  Christian  instrumentality,  the  second  pre- 
scribes and  makes  it  imperative  ;  and  the  third,  pre- 
dicts and  promises  its  triumph,  in  promoting  the  con- 
version of  the  world.  If  the  first  chapter  states  the 
plan  by  which  all  the  holy  influences  of  the  past  should 
have  been  collected,  multiplied,  and  combined ;  the 
second  exhibits  and  enforces  the  obligation  of  the 
present  to  that  entire  consecration  which  the  plan 
supposes ;  and  the  third  engages  that  such  consecra- 
tion shall  certainly  issue  in  the  erection  of  the  king- 
dom of  Christ.  And  one  passage  of  Scripture  there 
is,  which,  if  we  mistake  not,  virtually  includes,  and 
practically  applies,  the  whole.  That  passage  we  have 
already  quoted  as  the  Divine  postscript  of  the  sacred 
volume.  "And  the  Spirit  and  the  bride  say.  Come. 
And  let  him  that  heareth  say,  Come.     And  let  him 


172  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY 

that  is  athirst,  Come.  And  whosoever  will,  let  him 
take  the  water  of  life  freely."  Here  are  at  once  the 
plan  by  which  every  holy  agency  is  combined  and  put 
in  requisition  for  the  recovery  of  man ;  the  summons 
of  the  Lord  of  the  Church  himself  for  every  new 
agency  as  it  comes  into  being  to  join  in  the  great 
object  for  which  the  plan  exists  ;  and — considering  the 
position  which  the  verse  occupies  as  among  the  closing 
words  of  the  Revelation — the  practical  application  of 
all  unfulfilled  prophecy  respecting  that  object.  Taking 
the  verse  in  connexion  with  its  contexts,  its  practical 
power  becomes  even  more  emphatic.  "I,  Jesus,  have 
sent  mine  angel  to  testify  unto  you  these  things  in  the 
churches.  I  am  the  Root  and  the  Offspring  of  David, 
and  the  bright  and  morning  star." — And  as  my  person 
unites  the  wide  extremes  of  divinity  and  humanity, 
my  office  invests  me  with  all  power  in  heaven  and 
on  earth,  and  my  purposes  of  mercy  require  that 
angels  as  well  as  men  should  be  employed  in  my  service. 
Accordingly,  one  of  them  has  been  sent  to  instruct 
the  churches  in  those  mysteries  of  Providence  whose 
accomplishment  is  to  reach  to  the  end  of  time.  And, 
now,  I  myself  appear,  to  close  the  prophecy,  as  I  came 
to  open  it.  Hear,  then,  the  conclusion  of  the  whole 
matter.  I  have  opened  a  fountain  of  life  for  the 
perishing  world.  The  Spirit  and  the  Church — God, 
angels,  and  holy  men,  are  combined,  in  urging  the 
world  to  come.  And  as  often  as  a  single  soul  is 
prevailed  on  to  obey  the  call,  he  is  to  consider  himself 
bound,  even  though  he  can  but  feebly  lift  up  his 
voice,  and  say,  "  Come ;"  to  unite  with  all  who  are 
already  employed  in  publishing  my  invitations  of  mercy  ; 
for  whosoever  will  is  welcome  to  partake.  Such  is, 
simply,  my  final  will  ;  such  the  practical  application  of 
all  the  predictions  which  my  angel  has  now  testified  to 
the  churches  ;  and  such  the  sum  of  all  that  Scripture 
testifies  on  the  subject,  and  of  the  means  by  which  I 
propose  to  draw  all  men  unto  me.  I  testify,  therefore, 
that  if  any  man  shall  alter  the  words  of  the  book  of  this 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PROPHECY.  173 

prophecy,  so  as  to  disturb  the  legitimate  and  practical 
application  which  I  thus  finally  and  authoritatively  give 
to  them,  I  will  visit  him  with  signal  marks  of  my  most 
awful  displeasure." 

How  glorious  the  object  which  induces  the  Saviour 
to  address  his  Church — the  salvation  of  the  world  ! 
How  simple  the  method  by  which  he  proposes  to 
accomplish  it !  How  fearful  his  sacred  jealousy  that 
nothing  should  be  said  or  done  to  impair  its  efficiency  ! 
How  strong  the  certainty  implied  in  that  jealousy  that 
his  end  will  be  finally  gained !  And  how  loud  the 
summons  of  the  whole,  to  every  Christian,  and  every 
Christian  church,  to  unite  and  call  the  world  to  come ! 
If  all  the  orders  of  the  Church  triumphant  were  per- 
mitted audibly  to  address  the  world,  but  were  restricted 
to  a  single  word,  that  word  would  be  come.  If  all  the 
invitations  of  the  Gospel,  travailing  as  they  do  with 
the  burden  of  infinite  compassion,  could  be  condensed 
and  uttered  in  a  single  word,  that  word  would  be  come. 
But  the  Church  of  the  day  is  the  only  organ  through 
which  that  word  can  be  uttered  ;  so  that  were  all  its 
duties  in  reference  to  the  world  to  be  expressed  in  a 
single  term,  it  would  be  to  utter  the  invitation  come; 
and  if,  in  uttering  it,  all  its  tongues  were  to  become 
vocal,  and  each  of  its  members  could  pour  into  it  all  the 
passionate  and  holy  emotion  the  heart  of  man  has  ever 
known,  it  would  only  be  approaching  the  emphasis  with 
which  the  invitation  should  be  uttered.  As  if  the 
Church  of  the  present  day,  then,  had  to  retrieve  the 
silence  of  all  the  past,  and  as  if  it  had  only  a  word  in 
which  to  retrieve  that  silence,  and  a  moment  in 
which  to  utter  that  word,  let  it  call,  beseech,  adjure,  the 
world  to  come  ;  and  the  Spirit  himself  w^ould  speak  in 
its  tones  with  an  infinite  energy  ;  and  then,  to  the  sub- 
lime announcement  of  Christ,  "  behold,  I  come  quickly," 
the  Church  would  be  prepared  to  respond  with  joy, 
"  Amen,  even  so,  come  Lord  Jesus." 
15* 


PART  II 


THE  CLAIMS  OF  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE  ARISING 
FROM  THE  BENEFITS  WHICH  HAVE  ATTENDED  IT. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS. 

Now  if  it  be  true  that  the  Christian  Church  is  thus 
constructed  expressly  to  embody  and  diffuse  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Cross ;  and  if  its  full  efficiency  for  this  end 
depends,  under  God,  on  the  entireness  of  its  consecra- 
tion to  this  office,  we  may  expect  to  find  that  every  page 
of  its  history  illustrates  and  corroborates  this  truth. 

I.  No  law  of  nature  can  be  obeyed  without  advan- 
tage to  him  who  obeys  it;  nor  be  violated,  without 
avenging  itself,  and  vindicating  its  authority.  The  same 
is  true  of  the  laws  of  the  Christian  Church.  And, 
accordingly,  it  might  easily  be  shown  by  an  induction  of 
the  great  facts  of  its  history,  that  in  every  age  it  has  flour- 
ished or  declined  in  proportion  as  it  has  fulfilled  this 
primary  object  of  its  constitution. 

Need  we  repeat,  for  instance,  that  the  period  of  its 
first  and  greatest  activity,  was  the  season  of  its  greatest 
prosperity  ?  that  it  expanded  without  the  aid  of  any  of 
man's    favorite    instrumentality,    learning,     eloquence. 


176  THE  fflSTORY  OF 

wealth,  or  arms  ?  that  it  achieved  its  triumphs  in  the  face 
of  all  these  ?  that  its  progress  from  place  to  place  was 
marked  by  the  fall  of  idol  temples,  and  the  substitution 
of  Christian  sanctuaries  ?  and  that  God  caused  it  to 
triumph  in  every  place  ?  And  why  all  this,  but  because 
the  Church  was  acting  in  character,  and  fulfilling  its 
office,  as  the  representative  of  the  Cross  to  the  world? 
Had  we  witnessed  the  devotedness  of  its  first  days — 
subject  though  it  was  even  then  to  many  and  grievous 
deductions — had  we  heard  only  of  its  early  history  and 
triumphant  progress  from  land  to  land,  how  naturally 
might  we  inquire  the  date  when  the  Gospel  completed 
a  universal  conquest  ?  at  what  precise  period  it  was  that 
India  embraced  the  faith  of  Christ  ?  how  long  it  was 
before  China  was  evangelized  ?  whether  there  was  not  a 
year  of  jubilee  on  earth  when  the  Gospel  had  been 
preached  to  the  last  of  the  heathens,  and  in  what  year 
the  festival  occurred  ?  Alas  for  the  Church  that  these 
inquiries  should  sound  so  strange  ;  and  alas  for  the 
world  ! 

Need  we  remind  the  reader  that  the  decline  of 
Christian  devotedness  was  the  decline  of  Christian 
prosperity  ?  We  might  indeed  have  inferred  that  such 
would  be  the  result  from  the  known  constitution  of  the 
Christian  Church  ;  that  if  its  relative  efficiency  depends 
on  its  entire  consecration,  the  slightest  diversion  of  its 
influence  would  be  so  much  given  to  the  very  power 
which  it  was  called  into  existence  expressly  to  counter- 
act ;  and  that  if  that  influence  should  come  to  be  so 
diverted  to  any  considerable  amount,  the  efficiency  of 
the  Church  would  be  comparatively  destroyed,  and  itself 
be  in  danger  of  being  vanquished  by  the  counter  influ- 
ence of  the  world.  And  this,  we  repeat,  is,  substan- 
tially, the  history  of  its  long  decline  and  fall.  Physio- 
logists inform  us  that  life  radiates,  or  acts  from  the 
centre  outwards ;  and  that  on  ceasing  to  expand  it 
ceases  to  exist.  And  history  affirms  that  nations  flourish 
only  while  they  continue  to  enlarge  their  bounds ; 
that  the  tide  of  national  prosperity   no  sooner  ceases 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  177 

to  flow  than  it  begins  to  ebb.  Whether  these  state- 
ments be  founded  in  truth  or  not,  they  may  find  at  least 
an  obvious  analogy  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  From 
the  moment  it  lost  sight  of  its  expansive  character,  it 
began  to  lose  ground  to  the  world.  The  strength  which 
should  have  been  spent  in  conflict  with  foes  without, 
was  exhausted  in  fierce  contentions  within.  When  it 
ought  to  have  been  the  almoner  of  God  to  the  world, 
it  became  the  great  extortioner,  absorbing  the  wealth 
of  the  nations.  When  it  ought  to  have  been  the 
channel  of  the  water  of  life  to  the  world,  it  became  a 
stagnant  reservoir,  in  which  the  very  element  of 
life  corrupted  and  bred  "  all  monstrous,  all  prodigious 
things."  When  it  ought  to  have  been  the  birthplace 
of  souls,  it  was  the  grave  of  piety,  so  that  in  order 
to  live  it  was  necessary  to  leave  it.  And  at  the 
moment  when  it  should  have  been  giving  law  to 
public  opinion,  and  have  attained  the  mastery  of 
the  world,  it  was  actually  in  alliance  with  it — the 
wiUing  and  accomplished  agent  of  its  vilest  pur- 
poses. 

But  as  every  departure  of  the  Church  from  its  Mis- 
sionary design  is  sure  to  be  avenged,  so  we  may  expect 
that  every  return  to  that  character  will  be  divinely 
acknowledged  and  blessed.  Had  we  no  facts  at  hand 
to  prove  this,  the  injunctions  which  our  Lord  gave  to 
the  seven  Asiatic  churches  to  repeat  their  first  works,  and 
his  promises  of  prosperity  if  they  did  so,  would  lead  us  to 
infer  it ;  the  uniformity  of  the  Divine  procedure  would 
warrant  us  to  expect  it ;  the  very  return  itself,  imply- 
ing as  it  would  a  Divine  influence,  would  be  a  proof  of 
it.  But  facts  are  at  hand.  The  history  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  demonstrates  that  even  every  apparent 
return  to  first  principles  has  been,  in  so  far,  a  return 
to  outward  prosperity ;  that,  as  Machiavel  remarks, 
the  kingdom  of  the  hierarchy  would  have  been  sooner 
at  an  end,  if  the  reputation  of  the  friars  for  poverty  and 
activity  had  not  borne  out  the  scandal  of  the  excesses 
and  inactivity  of  those  above  them  ;  that  no  sooner  have 


178  THE  HISTORY  OF 

symptoms  of  returning  vigour  appeared  in  one  part  of 
that  Church,  than  all  the  vital  properties  which  it  still 
contained  have  moved  oft' in  that  particular  direction; 
that,  as  if  conscious  of  owing  its  continued  existence  to 
the  working  parts  of  its  body,  it  has  recently  (in  1814) 
repealed  the  order  of  Clement  XIV,  which  restrained 
the  aggressive  activity  of  the  Jesuits,  and  is  already 
exulting  in  the  ecclesiastical  benefits  arising  from  the 
change.  And  while  facts  demonstrate  that  activity  will 
keep  alive  even  a  corrupt  system,  the  history  of  every 
Protestant  Christian  Church  in  Christendom,  during  the 
last  fifty  years,  clearly  proves,  that  every  return  to 
spiritual  devotedness  is,  in  so  far,  a  return  to  Divine 
prosperity.  If  we  ascertain  the  measure  of  holy  activity 
in  any  Church,  we  have  ascertained  the  measure  of 
its  internal  [)rosperity.  So  that  a  person  might  at 
any  time  safely  say,  Tell  me  which  branch  of  the 
Christian  Church  is  the  most  scripturally  active  and 
aggressive  in  its  spirit,  and  I  will  tell  you  which  is  the 
most  prosperous. 

Before  we  proceed,  however,  to  examine  and  exhibit 
the  advantages  accruing  to  the  Christian  Church  from 
its  recent  resumption,  in  part,  of  its  original  design,  it 
will  be  proper  to  furnish  a  brief  chronological  sketch  of 
the  steps  by  which  it  has  reached  its  present  activity ; 
as  well  as  a  general  survey  of  modern  Missionary 
labours.  Thus  prepared,  we  shall  be  the  better  quali- 
fied to  enumerate  and  estimate  the  benefits  with  which 
those  labours  have  been  attended,  both  in  subserving 
the  temporal  welfare  of  men,  and  in  promoting  the 
higher  objects  and  interests  of  the  Church.  After 
which  we  shall  endeavour  to  connect  the  whole  whh 
the  preceding  Part,  and  practically  to  apply  it,  by 
showing  that  our  success  has  been  fully  proportioned 
to  our  efforts ;  that  advantages  have  flown  from  our 
returning  activity,  which  nothing  else  could  have  con- 
ferred ;  that  the  one  design  of  God  in  conferring  that 
success,  is  to  animate  and  redouble  those  efforts  ;  leaving 
us  to  infer  that  a  full  return  in  faith  and  prayer  to  the 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  179 

aggressive  design  of  the  Christian  Church,  would  be  a 
full  return  to  its  first  prosperity. 

II.  It  is  not  till  the  eighteenth  century  that  the  era  of 
Protestant  Missions  can  be  said  to  have  commenced. 
Not  indeed  that  the  Missionary  spirit  had  slumbered 
in  the  Church  from  the  apostolic  age  till  then.  Every 
.  intermediate  century  had  witnessed  the  diffusion  ofj  at 
I  leasts  nominal  Christianity.  Although  as-early  as  the 
third*  century  the  original  impulse  given  to  the  pro- 
gress of  the  Gospel  had  evidently  declined,  in  the 
fourth  we  find  Christianity  existing  in  Persia  ;  become 
general  in  Armenia,!  where  it  had  been  introduced  as 
early  probably  as  the  second  century  ;  carried  from 
Armenia  into  Iberia ;  rapidly  spreading  throughout 
Ethiopia,  whither  it  had  been  conveyed  by  Frumentius ; 
and  published,  about  the  year  350,  by  Theophilus,  at 
the  instance  of  Constantino,  in  the  south  of  Arabia. 
In  314,  we  find  bishops  from  England  present  at  the 
council  of  Arelate.  How  much  earlier  the  Gospel  had 
entered  Britain,  it  is  impossible  to  state. J  Probably, 
as  Giesler§  suggests,  it  was  brought  from  Gaul  early 
in  the  second  century.  Through  the  instrumentality  of 
Ulphilas,    the    Visgoths   now   embraced    Christianity ; 


*  About  the  middle  of  the  second  century,  we  find  churches  in 
Gaul  at  Lyons  and  Vienna.  (Euseb.  Hist.  Eccl.  b.  v.  chap.  1.)  In 
Africa,  Carthage  was  the  chief  seat  of  the  new  religion;  where,  ac- 
cording to  TertLillian,  (Apologet.  Chap.  37.)  its  professors  were  so 
numerous,  that  to  extirpate  them,  would  be  to  decimate  Carthage. 
In  the  East,  at  the  same  early  period,  Christianity  was  planted  at 
Edessa.  And  about  the  year  190,  according  to  Euscbius,  (b.  v. 
chap.  10,)  Pantg:nus  went  from  Alexandria  to  proclaim  the  Gospel 
in  India. 

t  An  alphabet  and  a  translation  of  the  Bible  were  introduced  by 
Miesrob,  about  410. 

+  Those  who  would  assign-  to  the  event  an  apostolic  date,  have 
little  ground  except  their  own  wishes.  That  the  apostle  Paul  visited 
England,  rests  on  the  ipse  dixit  of  Jerome,  a  Latin  father,  [of  the 
fourth  century. 

^  "Vol.  i.  ^  37.  The  authorities  for  the  statements  above,  v.-hen 
the  works  are  not  specified,  are  derived  from  the  Ecclesiastical  His- 
tories by  Mosheim,  Giesler  and  Neander. 


180  THE  HISTORY  OF 

and  to  him  they  were  indebted  also  for  an  alphabet 
and  a  translation  of  the  Bible.  The  Gothis  had  pro- 
bably received  the  Gospel  in  the  century  preceding  ; 
for  in  the  early  part  of  this  century  we  find  a  Gothic 
bishop  at  the  council  of  Nice. 

The  ffth  century  was  signalized  by  the  nominal  con- 
version of  several  of  the  German  nations.  In  432, 
Patricius,  a  Scotsman,  induced  the  Irish  to  embrace 
Christianity:  And  in  496,  the  Frajiks  assumed  the 
Christian  name ;  and  induced  the  Alemani  to  follow 
their  example.  In  the  sixth  century,  Christianity  was 
professedly  embraced  by  many  of  the  barbarous  nations 
bordering  on  the  Euxine  sea  ;  and'  vvas  more  widely 
diffused  among  the  Gauls.  From  about  the  year  565 
to  599,  the  Irish  monk  Columban  laboured  with  con- 
siderable success  among  the  Picts  ;*  and  in  596,  Augus- 
tine succeeded  in  converting  Ethelbert  to  the  profession 
of  the  Christian  faith ;  whose  example  was  immediately 
followed  by  his  Anglo-Saxon  subjects  in  Kent,  and  soon 
after  by  the  other  Anglo-Saxon  kings  of  England. 

Ecclesiastical  missionaries  from  England,  Scotland, 
and  Ireland,  carried  the  Gospel,  in  the  seventh  century, 
to  Batavia,  Belgium,  and  several  of  the  German  nations. 
Traces  of  its  extensive  propagation,  by  the  Nestorian 
Christians  of  Syria,  Persia,  and  India,  are  also  to  be 
found,  at  this  period,  in  the  remotest  regions  of  Asia  ; 
and,  if  the  Monumentum  Syro- Synicum  is  genuine,  it 
obtained  a  footing  in  China  about  the  year  636.  Tar- 
tary,  parts  of  Germany,  Friseland,  and  Saxony,  were 
the  principal  additions  to  the  domains  of  Christendom 
in  the  eighth  century.  In  the  ninths  Denmark  and 
Sweden,  Bulgaria,  and  Moravia,  professed  subjection 
to  the  faith,  as  well  as  parts  of  Slavoniaf  and  of  Russia. 
From  IMoravia,  the  Gospel  was  carried  into  Bohemia. 
In  the  tenth  century,  the  rays  of  Christian  light  began 

*  Bede,  Eccl.  Hist.  b.  iii.  chap.  4. 

t  C3Til  of  Thcssalonica,  and  his  brother  Methodius,  invented  the 
Slavic  alphabet,  and  translated  the  Bible,  and  some  Greek  and  Latin 
authors,  into  the  Slavic  tongue. — Balbini  Miscell.  part  i. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  181 

to  enter  Poland ;  in  Hungary,  Christianity  was  made 
the  national  religion  by  a  royal  decree ;  and  in  Norway 
— where  it  had  been  first  introduced  from  England — 
it  was  imposed  by  the  severest  measures.  From  Nor- 
way it  was  carried  into  Iceland,  the  Faro  and  Shetland 
Islands,  and  even  to  Greenland. 

The  eleventh  century  saw  Christianity  established  as 
the  national  religion  of  Russia ;  and  records  its  wider 
diffusion  in  the  East.  Conquest  and  conversion  had 
now  come  to  mean  nearly  the  same  thing ;  and  hence, 
in  the  tivelfth  century,  the  political  subjugation  of 
Pomerania  was  followed  by  its  nominal  subjection  to 
the  Christian  faith ;  the  island  of  Ruegen,  long  the 
stronghold  of  heathenism,  was  subdued,  and  its  in- 
habitants baptized ;  and  the  conquered  Fins  were  com- 
pelled to  submit  to  the  same  rite.  The  nominal  Church 
was  still  farther  enlarged,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  by 
the  forced  submission  of  Prussia,  Livonia,  and  many 
of  the  northern  provinces ;  as  well  as  by  the  recovery 
of  portions  of  the  Saracenic  territories  in  Spain.  The 
fourteenth  century  was  marked  by  the  professed  conver- 
sion of  the  Lithuanians,  one  of  the  last  of  the  heathen 
nations  of  Europe  which  embraced  Christianity ;  while 
the  fifteenth  was  indelibly  stained  by  the  forced  sub- 
jection of  parts  of  the  newly  discovered  hemisphere. 
Tow^ards  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Ignatius 
Loyola  founded  the  order  of  the  Jesuits  ;  one  of  whose 
grand  objects  was  the  propagation  of  Christianity  among 
heathens  and  infidels  by  means  of  missionaries.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  missions  of  the  Jesuits  form  an  impor- 
tant part  of  the  history  of  their  society.  Xavier  led 
the  way  into  India  and  Japan;  and,  whhin  a  very  short 
period,  the  agents  of  this  formidable  body  spread  over 
South  America,  and  penetrated  into  almost  every  part 
of  Asia.* 

*  Concerning  other  Papal  Missionary  institutions,  it  may  be  suffi- 
cient here  to  notice  the  college  de  propaganda  fide,  founded  at  Kome, 
in  1622,  by  Gregory  XV.,  and  soon  enriched  with  ample  resources. 
Another  college—pro  Jide  propagaiida — founded  in  1627  by  Urban 
16 


182  THE  HISTORY  OF 

It  is  historically  true,  indeed,  that  many  of  the  agents 
employed  from  century  to  century,  in  this  wide  diffu- 
sion of  the  Gospel,  were  men  whose  wisdom,  piety, 
and  zeal,  would  have  adorned  the  apostolic  age  ;  but 
it  is  notoriously  known  that  its  principal  instrumentality 
consisted  of  worldly  pohcy,  and  martial  power  ;*  and 
consequently  that  its  immediate  results  were  only  terri- 
torial aggrandizement,  and  nominal  submission.  Ac- 
cordingly, as  many  of  these  conquests  had  been  made 
by  the  sword,  by  the  sword  many  of  them  were  sub- 
sequently lost.  Civilization  itself,  at  one  period, 
suffered  a  decline.  Ages  of  darkness  rolled  over  the 
Church ;  until  Christendom,  so  far  from  being  in  a 
capacity  to  convert  the  world,  stood  itself  in  the  most 
urgent  need  of  substantial  conversion. 

That  glorious  change,  of  which  the  signs  and  means 
had  long  been  gathering,  was  the  great  event  of  the 
century,  of  which  we  are  now  speaking.  But  essential 
as  the  renovation  of  the  Church  was  to  the  conversion 
of  the  world,  the  direct  effect  of  the  Reformation,  pro- 
perly so  called,  was  confined  to  the  Church  itself.  In- 
deed, so  far  from  immediately  benefiting  the  world,  its 
primary  force  was  soon  exhausted  within  even  a  small 
circle  of  Christendom.  Nor  has  the  line  of  demarcation 
between  Protestantism  and  Popery,  been  materially 
moved  during  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  which 
have  since  elapsed. 

The  seventeenth  century  was  an  age  of  Missionary 
preparation  and  promise.  The  close  of  the  preceding 
century,  indeed,  had  witnessed  the  first  attempt,  on  the 


VIII.  and  very  munificently  endowed,  appears  to  have  been  merged, 
in  1641,  in  the  preceding  institution.  In  1663,  Louis  XIV.  instituted 
the  Co7igregatio?i  of  Priests  of  the  Foreign  Missions  ;  while  an  eccle- 
siastical association  founded  the  Parisian  seminary  for  the  Missions 
abroad ;  and  the  apostoUcal  vicars  of  these  societies  were  soon  found 
in  Siam,  Tonquin,  Cochin-China,  Persia,  &c. 

*  This  has  been  ably  shown,  as  far  at  least  as  the  latter  part  of  the 
period  referred  to  is  concerned,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Campbell,  in 
his  late  excellent  Treatise  on  "Maritime  Discovery  and  Christian 
Missions." 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  183 

part  of  Protestant  Christians,  to  make  a  descent  on 
heathenism.  The  distinguished  honour  of  making  it 
belongs  to  the  Swiss.  For,  in  1556,  fourteen  Mis- 
sionaries were  sent  by  the  Church  of  Geneva,  to  plant 
the  Christian  faith  in  the  newly  discovered  regions  of 
South  America.*  In  1559,  a  Missionary  was  sent  into 
Lapland,  by  the  celebrated  Gustavus  Vasa,  king  of 
Sweden.  Early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  the  Dutch, 
having  obtained  possession  of  Ceylon,  attempted  to 
convert  the  natives  to  the  Christian  faith.  About  the 
same  time,  many  of  the  Nonconformists  who  had  set- 
tled in  New  England,  began  to  attempt  the  conversion 
of  the  aborigines.  Mayhew  in  1643,  and  the  laborious 
Eliot  in  1646,  devoted  themselves  to  this  apostohc 
service.  In  1649,  during  the  Protectorate  of  Cromwell, 
was  incorporated  by  Act  of  Parliament,  the  "  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  New  England.'* 
In  1660  the  society  was  dissolved ;  but,  on  urgent  ap- 
plication, was  soon  restored ;  and  the  celebrated  Robert 
Boyle  was  appointed  its  first  governor.  The  zeal  of 
this  distinguished  individual  for  the  diffusion  of  the 
Gospel  in  India  and  America,  and  among  the  native 
Welsh  and  Irish;  his  munificent  donations  for  the 
translations  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  into  Malay  and 
Arabic,  Welsh  and  Irish,  and  of  EHot's  Bible  into  the 
Massachusetts  Indian  language ;  as  well  as  for  the  dis- 
tribution of  Grotius  de  Veritate  Christiancz  Religionis ; 
and,  lastly,  his  legacy  of  £5400  for  the  propagation  of 
Christianity  among  the  heathens,  entitle  him  to  distinct 
attention.  In  1698  was  instituted  the  "Society  for 
promoting  Christian  Knowledge  ;"  whose  objects  com- 
prise, to  a  certain  extent,  the  labours  of  Missionaries. 
Its  Missions,  chiefly  in  the  East,  are  subsequently  asso- 
ciated with  such  names  as  Ziegenbalg,  Gericke,  and 
Swartz.  And  besides  these  incipient  efforts  to  diffuse 
the  Gospel,  glowing  sentiments  on  the  subject  are  to 


*  Picteti  Orat.  de  Trophaeis  Christi  t;i  Fabricii  Lux  Salutaris  Evan- 
gelii,  &CC.,  p.  586. 


184  THE  HISTORY  OF 

be  found  scattered  through  the  sermons  and  epistolary 
correspondence  of  the  age,  which  show  that  many  a 
Christian  heart  was  labouring  and  swelling  with  the 
desire  of  greater  things  than  these.  Still  the  century 
closed  with  witnessing  little  more  than  individual  and 
unsustained  endeavours.  Had  they  been  all  suddenly 
arrested,  only  a  very  feeble  call  would  have  been  made 
for  their  resumption.  Like  the  repeated  flights  of  the 
dove  of  the  deluge,  they  served  to  show  that  there  was 
shut  up  within  the  ark  of  the  Church  a  principle  of 
activity  impatient  to  be  free,  and  which  promised,  when 
opportunity  served,  to  traverse  the  globe. 

The  eighteenth  century  began  to  fulfill  that  promise, 
and  may  be  denominated  the  age  of  Missionary  associa- 
tion. In  1701,  the  "Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,"  was  chartered  ;  having 
in  view  exclusively  the  benefit  of  our  plantations,  and 
colonial  possessions.  In  1705,  Frederic  the  Fourth, 
king  of  Denmark,  was  induced,  by  one  of  his  chaplains, 
to  send  two  Missionaries  to  Tranquebar,  on  the  coast 
of  Coromandel.  One  of  these,  Ziegenbalg,  may  be 
considered  almost  as  the  parent  of  the  Eastern  Missions. 
The  society  in  Scotland  for  "Propagating  Christian 
Knowledge,"  was  instituted  at  Edinburgh  in  1709. 
The  philosophic  Dr.  Berkeley,  then  Dean  of  Derry, 
published  his  noble  proposal  for  the  erection  of  a 
college  in  the  Bermudas,  with  a  view  to  the  conversion 
of  the  American  Indians ;  a  plan  in  the  prosecution  of 
which  he  displayed  a  degree  of  self-denial,  generosity, 
and  devotedness,  rarely  equalled.  The  persevering 
Egede  sailed  from  Bergen  in  1721,  for  the  coast  of 
Greenland.  Influenced  partly  by  seeing  at  Copenhagen 
two  Greenlanders  who  had  been  baptized  by  Egede, 
the  persecuted  Moravians  commenced  a  Mission  to  the 
same  country  in  1741.  To  their  everlasting  honour, 
and  to  the  deep  disgrace  of  the  rest  of  the  Christian 
community,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  that  when  they 
sent  out  their  first  Missionaries,  their  entire  congrega- 
tion did  not  exceed  six  hundred  persons ;    and  that  of 


CHRIOTIAN  MISSIONS.  185 

these  the  greater  part  were  suffering  exiles.  Yet  so 
noble  and  extensive  were  the  exertions  which  they 
made  for  the  evangelization  of  the  heathen,  and  so 
abundantly  were  their  unostentatious  endeavours  blessed 
by  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  that  within  the  short 
period  of  ten  years  their  heralds  had  proclaimed  salva- 
tion in  Greenland,  St.  Croix,  Surinam,  and  Rio  de 
Berbice  ;  to  the  Indians  of  North  America,  and  to  the 
negroes  of  South  Carolina ;  in  Lapland,  Tartary,  and 
Algiers,  in  Guinea,  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and 
Ceylon. 

Brainerd  entered  the  field  of  Missionary  labour  in 
1743.  In  the  year  1784,  at  a  Baptist  Association  held 
at  Nottingham,  it  was  determined  that  one  hour  on  the 
first  Monday  evening  of  every  month,  should  be  de- 
voted to  solemn  and  special  intercession  for  the  revival 
of  genuine  religion,  and  for  the  extension  of  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  throughout  the  world  ;  hence  the  origin 
of  Monthly  Missionary  Prayer  Meetings.  Wesleyan 
Methodism,  being  strictly  missionary  in  its  character, 
extended  its  operations  to  the  West  Indies  in  1786. 
The  "  Baptist  Missionary  Society"  was  organized  in 
1792.  The  ''  London  Missionary  Society,"  on  the 
principle  of  embracing  all  denominations,  arose  in  1795. 
The  year  following,  the  "  Edinburgh  Missionary  So- 
ciety" was  instituted.  And  in  1801  arose  the  "  Church 
Missionary  Society." 

From  this  brief  outline,  the  progress  of  Christian 
association  for  Missionary  purposes  during  the  last  cen- 
tury is  obvious.  Not  only  were  societies  organized  to 
send  forth  and  to  sustain  the  Missionary  of  the  Cross  ; 
but,  unlike  several  preceding  organizations,  they  were 
instituted  for  this  object  alone.  While,  among  the  hap- 
piest signs  which  accompanied  their  formation,  it  may 
be  remarked,  that  Missionary  information  began  to  be 
regularly  circulated  in  periodicals  ;  that  sermons  began 
to  be  addressed  to  large  and  interested  audiences,  ex- 
clusively on  the  obligations  of  Christians  to  diffuse  the 
Gospel ;  that  the  people  generally  responded  to  the  call 
16* 


186  THE  HISTORY  OF 

by  their  willing  contributions  ;  and,  especially,  that  thou- 
sands of  them  met  at  stated  times  to  implore  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  new  field  of  Missionary 
labour  ; — signs  which  indicated  the  approach  of  yet 
further  association,  and  of  greater  enterprise,  for  the 
recovery  of  man. 

The  Missionary  character  which  will  belong  to  the 
nineteenth  century  remains  to  be  seen  ;  for  one  half 
of  its  sands  have  not  yet  run  out.  Were  w^e  required, 
however,  to  give  a  descriptive  name  to  that  portion 
of  it  which  has  elapsed,  we  should  unhesitatingly 
denominate  it  the  age  of  general  Christian  association 
for  the  Missionary  enterprise.  The  union  of  Christians 
for  this  great  object  has  yet  to  become  universal  ;  but 
the  interest  felt  in  it  now,  compared  numerically 
with  that  which  existed  at  the  close  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, may  be  said  to  be  general.  The  object  could 
not  be  suddenly  withdrawn  from  the  Christian  world 
now,  without  occasioning  a  sensation  of  dismay  which 
would  thrill  through  the  entire  community,  and  which 
would  raise  the  cry  of  tens  of  thousands  for  its  re- 
turn. Its  presence  has  taken  the  rank  of  a  new 
power  ;  and  its  absence  would  be  felt  as  a  great  gene- 
ral want. 

The  correctness  of  this  representation  will  be  seen 
from  a  further  enumeration  of  the  societies  which  the 
Missionary  enterprise  has  originated.  The  ''  Glasgow 
Missionary  Society"  commenced  its  operations  soon 
after  the  establishment  of  the  London  Society.  In 
1808,  was  organized  "  The  Society  for  Promoting 
Christianity  among  the  Jews."  In  1816,  a  Mission- 
ary Seminary  was  established  at  Basle  ;  the  interest 
in  which  continuing  to  increase  till  1821,  the  "  Ger- 
man Missionary"  Society  was  then  formed,  or,  as  it 
is  sometimes  called,  the  "  Evangelical  Missionary  So- 
ciety." In  1816,  also,  was  formed  the  '^  General 
Baptist  Missionary  Society,"  in  distinction  from  that 
of  the  Particular  Baptist  body,  of  1792.  As  early 
as  1799  a  Missionary  spirit  was  awakened  in  various 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  187 

parts  of  Germany  ;  in  consequence  of  which,  first 
Elberfield,  and  then  Barmen,  originated  societies  for 
the  contribution  of  funds  to  Missionary  and  kindred 
institutions.  In  1828,  these  societies  united,  and  hav- 
ing been  since  joined  by  the  Societies  of  Cologne 
and  Wesel,  they  together  form  the  "  Rhenish  Mission- 
ary Society."  About  this  time  also  the  "  Netherland 
Missionary  Society"  commenced  operations,  and  was 
associated  with  the  name  of  the  enterprising  Gutzlaff. 
And  in  1822,  was  organized  the  "  French  Protestant 
Missionary  Society."  Nor  should  it  be  omitted,  that 
the  claims  of  the  heathen  to  Christian  instruction  have 
so  far  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
that  they  have  commenced  a  solitary  mission  to  Wes- 
tern Africa. 

The  Missionary  Societies  of  x\merica  demand  dis- 
tinct regard.  The  land  of  the  Mayhews  and  of  Eliot, 
of  Brainerd  and  of  Sergeant,  could  never  be  entirely 
lost  to  the  cause  of  Missions  while  their  names  con- 
tinued to  be  revered,  and  their  journals  to  be  read. 
It  was  not  however  till  the  inspiring  accounts  of  a 
Carey,  a  Vanderkemp,  and  a  Buchanan,  had  been  ex- 
tensively circulated,  that  American  piety  became  di- 
vinely awakened  to  its  claims.  With  that  awakening, 
the  names  of  Mills,  Judson,  and  their  coadjutors,  stand 
vitally  connected.  On  these  youthful  students  in  di- 
vinity, the  Missionary  spirit  had  eminently  rested  ;  and, 
having  presented  a  memorial  on  the  subject  of  Mis- 
sions to  the  General  Association  of  the  Ministers  of 
Massachusetts  in  1810,  "  The  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions"  was  formed  the 
same  year  ;  and,  in  the  year  following,  sailed  the  first 
Mission  sent  from  America  to  any  foreign  heathen  land. 
In  1814  was  formed  the  "  American  Baptist  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions."  The  "  American  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Missionary  Society"  followed  in  1819.  In  the 
year  ensuing,  the  "  Domestic  and  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States,"  commenced  its  operations,  and  in  1831, 


188  THE  HISTORY  OF 

the  Presbyterian  Church  instituted  the  ''  Western  For- 
eign Missionary  Society." 

III.  Now  in  marking  the  principal  circumstances 
which  have  accompanied  this  rapid  accumulation  of  Mis- 
sionary organization  within  the  last  forty  years,  and 
which  may  be  said  to  divide  its  brief  history  into  impor- 
tant epochs,  we  may  notice  : — 

1.  The  formation  of  the  Tract  Society  in  1799, 
and  the  origin  of  the  Bible  Society  in  1804  ; — insti- 
tutions which  have  proved  the  right  arm  of  Missionary 
activity,  and  increased  its  means  of  usefulness  to  a 
very  considerable  extent.  2.  An  important  era  for 
Missions  arrived  when  the  fact  was  practically  and 
openly  admitted,  that  no  sect  or  denomination  of 
Christians  can  sustain  a  reputation  for  Christian  con- 
sistency without  labouring  to  extend  the  Gospel  to 
pagan  lands.  3.  The  accession  of  the  American 
Churches  to  the  Missionary  enterprise  was  another 
and  a  glorious  stage  in  its  progress.  4.  But  if  the 
adhesion  of  Christians  to  this  object  in  their  denomi- 
nations and  larger  divisions,  was  important,  equally 
important  was  it  to  be  able  to  announce  that  the 
Missionary  spirit  had  descended  to  the  individual 
members  of  the  particular  churches  and  congregations 
of  which  these  denominations  are  composed  ;  and  had 
created  for  itself  a  deep,  general,  and  permanent 
interest,  in  the  mass.  5.  The  formation  of  branch 
and  auxiliary  societies,  by  which  the  cause  of  missions 
becomes  located  among  a  people,  draws  them  gradually 
wuhin  the  circle  of  its  action,  and  lays  all  the  piety 
which  may  exist  among  them  under  contribution  for 
its  advancement,  is  to  be  marked  as  another  leading 
event.  6.  The  conviction  which  has  now  generally 
obtained  that  the  Missionary  service  deserves  the  con- 
secration of  the  greatest  talent,  and  the  most  marked 
wisdom  and  piety  which  the  churches  can  supply,  is 
a  distinct  indication  of  another  stage  in  the  progress 
which  that   service   is  making  in   public   opinion,  and 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  189 

is  full  of  promise  as  to  the  character  of  its  future 
agency.  7.  Another  era  in  its  history  was  the  employ- 
ment of  native  agency,  and  the  project  of  instituting 
colleges  abroad  with  an  ultimate  view  to  the  education 
of  that  agency  for  more  efficient  service.  If  we  are 
not  intending  to  furnish  the  nations  with  an  adequate 
supply  of  stated  preaching  from  our  own  land,  and 
for  generations  to  come,  the  heathen  must  be  rendered 
independent  of  Christendonri  for  their  religious  in- 
structors as  soon  as  possible.  And  in  no  other  way 
can  this  be  done  than  by  taking  the  necessary  steps 
for  raising  up  a  native  ministerial  agency.  8.  And 
another  important  step  in  the  progress  of  Missions 
is  the  conviction  which  is  beginning  to  obtain,  not 
only  that  the  Christian  Church  must  be  brought  to 
look  more  closely  and  practically  at  the  object  of 
evangehzing  the  earth,  but  that  for  this  end  it  must 
act  on  a  system.  The  more  vast  its  projects,  the 
greater  the  necessity  of  a  fixedness  of  design,  and  a 
steady  adaptation  of  means  to  the  end.  On  this  prin- 
ciple it  is  that  an  American  Missionary  Society  has 
lately  presented  the  outline  of  a  plan  for  its  ovvn 
operations,  the  filling  up  of  which,  under  the  Divine 
sanction,  will  plant  four  or  five  hundred  stations  in 
the  more  eligible  parts  of  Africa  and  Asia,  as  well 
as  thirty  or  forty  theological  seminaries,  and  require 
about  twelve  hundred  ordained  missionaries,  and  three 
hundred  laymen  as  physicians,  printers,  and  teachers. 
Thus  the  most  enlarged  desires  are  beginning  to  assume 
that  distinctness  of  plan  which  is  essential  to  their  wise 
and  steady  prosecution. 

IV.  The  following  table  contains  a  statistical  survey 
of  our  principal  Missionary  Societies,  arranged  alpha- 
betically,* and  of  their  present  operations.  Other 
Societies  exist  of  a  strictly  Missionary  character  ;  but 
they  are  not  here  introduced,  not  because  they  are  not 


*  Where  a  doited  line  occurs  in  the  table,  it  denotes  that  the  results 
under  that  head,  if  there  are  any,  have  not  been  ascertained. 


190  THE  HISTORY  OF 

equally  meritorious  with  those  named,  but  because  they 
do  not  directly  contemplate  the  conversion  of  the 
heathen.  Such  are  the  Colonial  Missionary  Society  ; 
the  European  Society  for  aiding  the  diffusion  of  evan- 
gelical Christianity  on  the  continent  of  Europe  ;  and 
the  Society  for  the  Promotibn  of  Female  Education  in 
the  East. 

From  this  survey,  and  from  other  inquiries  made  by 
the  writer,  but  to  which  the  replies  have  not  been 
sufficiently  definite  to  justify  insertion,  it  will  be  seen 
that  there  exist  at  present,/ in  Britain  and  America, 
about*  fourteen  Missionary  Societies  ;  of  which,  seven 
may  be  denominated  first-rate  ;  the  remaining  seven, 
were  they  blended  into  one,  would  not  much  more  than 
equal  a  single  Society  of  the  former  class. 

That  the  annual  income  of  these  Societies  amounts 
to  about  £505,000  ;  of  which,  about  £400,000  are 
contributed  by  British  Cliristians,  and  the  remainder  by 
the  Christians  of  America. 

That  the  number  of  Missionaries  at  present  in  the 
field  of  labour,  is  about  fifteen  hundred  ;  and  that  these 
Missionaries  occupy  about  twelve  hundred  principal  or 
central  stations. 

That  at  these  stations  are  to  be  found,  in  subordinate 
co-operation  with  the  ordained  Missionaries  from  Bri- 
tain and  America,  about  five  thousand  native  and  other 
salaried  teachers,  catechists,  readers,  helpers,  and  assist- 
ants of  various  kinds,  engaged  in  the  offices  of  educa- 
tion and  religious  instruction.  That  about  fifty  of  these 
stations  have  printing  establishments. 

And  that  all  the  Missions  combined,  exhibit  about 
180,000  converts  in  Christian  communion;  and  about 
200,000  children  and  adults  belonging  to  their  schools. 

*  Of  course,  these  figures  claim  to  be  regarded  only  as  an  ap- 
proximation to  the  truth.  Even  the  income  of  one  Society  as  com- 
pared with  that  of  another,  is  to  be  understood  with  this  qualifica- 
tion, that  one  Society  includes  in  its  general  accounts,  the  pecuniary 
support  which  it  receives  for  a  particular  field  of  labour ;  for  the 
prosecution  of  which,  perhaps,  another  Christian  denomination 
maintains  a  distinct  Society.  In  this  summary  the  three  continental 
Societies  are  omitted. 


Translations. 


n 


languages • 


A  Scriptures, 
facts,  &c. . . 


w  Testamentj  , 
Practs,  Hymns  \ 


riptures,   &c.,  ^ 

Qnto  forty  Ian-  > 

guages ) 

^tures  and  Tracts 


Iriptures      and 
CtTracts    in    fif- 
teen languages 

CI       .... 

Y\       .... 

G<       .... 

T .  Scriptures, 
acts,  &c 


IjJriptures,  &c., 
jnlo  six  lan- 
guages   

j-iptures,    &c., 

W^nto      fourteen 

languages 


Receipts 


1841 
1841 
1841 
1841 
1841 

1841 

1841 

1841 


1841 


1841 


£48,492  ..$235,189 

17,723  ..  85,960 

6,291  ..  30,514 

§25,020  ..  121,350 

10,237  ..  49,649 

26,656  ..  129,281 

1,600  ..  7,760 

101,576  ..  492,643 


1841 

7,000  . 

.   33,950 

1838 

2,436  . 

.   11,814 

1838 

4,525  . 

.  21,946 

1841 

80,100  . 

.  388,485 

1841 

78,651  . 

.  381,457 

1834 

4,740  . 

.   22,989 

1841 

2,805  . 

.   13,604 

10  651 


51,657 


90,182    ..    437,382 


J  by  different  Societies;  some  adopting  the  principle  of  cen- 
tijnown.  I  Commenced  Missionary  operations  in  1786, 


tl] 


the  total  receipts  in  our  own  currency  have  been  added,  for 


,1, 


ican    Board    of  > 
cisnMiaaiona.-.S 

AmericanBaplislBoard ; 

American  Episcopal 

Amer.  Ep.  Melbodisis.. 

Baptial 

Church  (of  Scotland)  ... 

French  Protestnnls 

GermaQ  Evangelical.... 

PropagaiionoflheGoB-; 
pel \ 

Scottish 

United   Brethren  (or,  ^ 


)     chipclago.N  Pacif- f 
I     ic,  &n!  A.  Indians  i 

(  &C  .Europe,  Am. Iiid!') 
(Greece.    Creie,    CunO 

j^A";?Texa?"or^ 

5  Africa,  the  East,  and  ) 
C  India,    West    Indies,  ^ 

CW-  ludiea,  N.  andS.l 
<    Labrador.Grecniand  J 

^  Eur(  pe.  the  East,  Af-  ? 


lTraS;:c?;...( 


)     7rJi%^lSnms  ( 


Scriptures  and  Tracts 


rE 


6,291  ..  30,514 
525,020  ..  121,350 
10,237    ..      19,649 


1,576    ..    492,613 
7,000    ..      33,950 


4,740    ..      22,989 


»Thi"e 


a  our  own  currency  have 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  191 

The  only  remark  which  it  would  here  be  in  place  to 
add,  is,  that  these  results  have  been  attained  gradually  ; 
that,  taking  the  collected  reports  of  all  the  Missionary 
Societies  for  any  given  year,  they  will  be  found  to 
exhibit  an  advance  on  the  reports  of  the  year  preceding  ; 
leaving  us  to  indulge  the  hope  that  by  the  same  blessing 
by  which  they  have  been  progressively  brought  to  their 
present  state  of  enlargement,  they  will  continue  to  re- 
port an  annual  increase  of  resources,  activity,  and  use- 
fulness, for  an  indefinite  number  of  years  to  come. 
The  practical  benefits  arising  from  Missionary  labours 
will  next  become  the  subject  of  distinct  consideration. 


CHAPTER  II 


ADVANTAGES  RESULTING  TO  THE  HEATHEN  FROM  THE  MISSIONARY 
ENTERPRISE. 


SECTION  I. 


TEMPORAL   BENEFITS. 


At  the  commencement  of  the  preceding  chapter  we 
remarked,  that  such  are  the  gracious  arrangements 
and  promises  of  God,  that  every  return  of  the  Church 
to  its  Missionary  design,  entitles  it  to  hope  for  cor- 
responding prosperity.  Having  taken  a  general  survey 
of  the  manner  in  which  Christians  have  recently  resum- 
ed their  Missionary  vocation,  we  are  the  better  prepar- 
ed to  look  after  the  expected  results  of  their  activity. 

And  here,  the  first  fact  which  meets  us  on  opening 
the  inquiry  is,  that,  independently  of  the  direct  and 
spiritual  benefits  at  which  we  aimed,  a  host  of  minor 
but  magnificent  temporal  advantages  have  been  gained, 
and  which  alone  would  have  amply  repaid  all  the  cost 
of  the  Missionary  effort.  This  is,  as  if  in  attempting 
to  estimate  the  benefits  of  the  Saviour's  Mission,  a 
contemporaneous  inquirer,  who  had  only  heard  of  him 
as  a  Teacher  sent  from  God,  and  had  only  thought  of 
spiritual  results,  should  have  had  to  make  his  way  to 
those  results  through  the  thronging  and  grateful  ranks 


TEMPORAL  BENEFITS  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS,  193 

of  those  who  had  been  healed,  and  who  insisted  on 
presenting  themselves  first,  as  a  part  of  the  fruits  of 
that  Mission.  And,  indeed,  what  was  the  character  of 
Christ,  but  the  character  of  his  dispensation  ?  and  what 
was  the  design  of  his  Divine  Mission,  but  that  it  should 
be  the  source  and  type  of  all  the  good  attending  the 
march  of  his  Gospel  through  the  earth  ? 

Accordingly,  we  find,  that  even  where  Christianity 
has,  for  obvious  reasons,  produced  but  slender  spiritual 
results,  the  inferior  benefits  which  it  has  scattered,  have 
rendered  its  progress  through  the  nations  as  traceable 
as  the  overflowing  of  the  Nile  is  by  the  rich  deposit 
and  consequent  fertility  which  it  leaves  behind.*  This 
is  a  well-known  subject  of  devout  exultation  in  many 
of  the  inspired  epistles.  The  apologies  of  the  Fathers 
prove  it  ;  and  the  records  of  profane  history,  uninten- 
tionally, but  abundantly,  confirm  it.  Every  city  which 
the  Gospel  visited,  presents  itself  in  proof  of  its  cor- 
rective influence  ;  and  every  nation  we  enumerated  in 
the  preceding  chapter,  stands  forward  as  a  witness  to 
the  same  eftect.  It  produced  charity  even  in  Judea, 
humility  at  Athens,  chastity  at  Corinth,  and  humanity 
at  Rome — cleansing  her  imperial  amphitheatre  of  hu- 
man blood,  and  evincing  that  her  boasted  civilization  had 
been  only  a  splendid  barbarism.  Softened  by  its  influ- 
ence, the  Armenian,  says  Jerome,  lays  down  his  quiver, 
the  Huns  learn  to  sing  the  praises  of  God,  the  coldness 
of  Scythia  is  warmed  by  the  glow  of  faith,  and  the  armies 
of  the  Goths  carry  about  tents  for  churches. f  Theo- 
dosius  and  Justinian  took  much  of  their  codes  from  its 
inspired  lips  ;  and  thus,  the  Gospel  may  be  said  to 
have  read  laws  to  the  Visigoths  and  Burgundians,  the 
Franks  and  Saxons,  Lombards  and  Sicilians.  On  the 
Irish,  as  well  as  on  many  other  nations,  it  bestowed  a 
written  language ;  and  made  Ireland,  for  centuries,  the 
university  of  Europe.      It  raised  the   German  barbarian 

*  Vide  Ryan's  Effects  of  Religion  on  Mankind,  passim. 
t  Epist.  Ivii. 

17 


194  TEMPORAL  BENEFITS  OF 

into  a  man ;  and  elevated  the  wandering  hordes  of  the 
Saxons,  Marchomani,  and  Bohemians,  into  civilized 
communities.  It  approached  the  Dane,  and  he  forgot 
his  piratical  habits  ;  and  the  Swede  and  the  Norwegian 
stayed  within  their  own  boundaries,  and  ceased  to  be 
a  general  terror.  It  called  the  Russians,  Silesians,  and 
Poles,  to  take  rank  among  the  nations ;  won  the  Livo- 
nians  and  Portuguese  from  their  idols  ;  and  taught  the 
Lithuanians  a  worship  superior  to  that  of  reptiles,  or  of 
the  sun. 

Virtue  went  out  of  it  in  every  age,  and  wherever  it 
came.  The  Roman  empire  was  rushing  to  ruin  ;  the 
Gospel  arrested  its  descent,  and  broke  its  fall.  Nearly 
all  the  nations  of  Europe  which  we  have  named,  were 
sitting  at  a  feast  on  human  flesh,  or  immolating  human 
victims  to  their  gods  ;  it  called  them  away  from  the 
horrid  repast,  and  extinguished  their  unholy  fires.  The 
northern  invasion  poured  a  new  world  of  barbarism 
over  Christian  lands  ;  the  spirit  of  Christianity  brooded 
over  the  chaotic  mass,  and  gradually  gave  to  it  the 
forms  of  civilized  life.  Where  it  could  not  sheathe  the 
sword  of  war,  it  at  least,  humanized  the  dreadful  art. 
It  found  the  servant  a  slave,  and  broke  his  chains.  It 
found  the  poor — the  mass  of  mankind — trampled  under 
foot ;  and  it  taught  them  to  stand  erect,  by  addressing 
whatever  is  Divine  in  their  degraded  nature.  It  found 
woman — one  half  of  the  species — in  the  dust  ;  and  it 
extended  its  protecting  arm  to  her  weakness,  and  raised, 
and  placed  her  by  the  side  of  man.  Sickly  infancy, 
and  infirm  old  age,  were  cast  out  to  perish  ;  it  passed 
by,  and  bade  them  live  ;  preparing  for  each  a  home,  and 
becoming  the  tender  nurse  of  both. 

Yes,  Christianity  found  the  heathen  world  without 
a   single   house   of    mercy.*      Search   the    Byzantine 

*  There  is  ground  to  believe  that  the  provision  by  some  of  the  Greek 
states  for  those  wounded,  and  for  the  children  of  those  slain  in  battle, 
flowed  from  martial  policy  alone  ;  and  that  the  Valeticdinarium  of  the 
Romans  was  only  an  infirmary  for  the  sick  servants  and  slaves  of  a 
great  family.  Si  quis  sauciatus  m  opere  noxam  ceperit,  in  vdletudinari- 
urn  deducatur. — Col.  xi.  1.    Conf.  Sen.  Epist.  27. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  195 

Chronicles,  and  the  pages  of  Publius  Victor  ;  and, 
though  the  one  describes  all  the  public  edifices  of 
ancient  Constantinople,  and  the  other  of  ancient  Rome, 
not  a  word  is  to  be  found  in  either,  of  a  charitable  insti- 
tution. Search  the  ancient  marbles  in  your  museums ; 
descend  and  ransack  the  graves  of  Herculaneum  and 
Pompeii  ;  and  question  the  many  travellers  who  have 
visited  the  ruined  cities  of  Greece  and  Rome  ;  and  see, 
if  amidst  all  the  splendid  remains  of  statues  and  amphi- 
theatres, baths  and  granaries,  temples,  aqueducts,  and 
palaces,  mausoleums,  columns,  and  triumphal  arches, 
a  single  fragment  or  inscription  can  be  found  "  telling 
us  that  it  belonged  to  a  refuge  for  human  want,  or  for 
the  alleviation  of  human  misery."  The  first  voluntary 
and  public  collection  ever  known  to  have  been  made  in 
the  heathen  w^orld  for  a  charitable  object,  was  made  by 
the  churches  of  Macedonia,  for  the  poor  saints  in  Jeru- 
salem. The  first  individual  known  to  have  built  an 
hospital  for  the  poor,  was  a  Christian  widow.  Search 
the  lexicons  for  interpreting  the  ancient  Greek  authors  ; 
and  you  will  not  find  even  the  names  which  Divine 
Christianity  wanted  by  which  to  designate  her  houses  of 
charity — she  had  to  invent  them.  Language  had  never 
been  called  on  to  embody  such  conceptions  of  mercy. 
All  the  asylums  of  the  earth  belong  to  her. 

And,  be  it  remembered,  that  Christianity  has  ac- 
complished much  of  this,  under  circumstances  the 
most  unfriendly  to  success.  As  yet  it  has  had  but 
a  very  limited  influence  even  in  what  are  denominated 
Christian  countries.  But  yet,  while  bleeding  herself 
at  a  thousand  pores,  she  has  saved  whole  tribes 
from  extermination,  and  comparatively  stanched  the 
flow  of  human  blood.  Though  a  prisoner  herself, 
and  walking  in  chains,  she  has  yet  gone  through  the 
nations,  proclaiming  liberty  to  the  captive,  and  the 
opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that  are  bound.  Even 
when  popery  had  converted  her  creed  into  a  libel  on 
her  name,  it  yet  contained  truths  which  eclipsed  the 
wisdom   of    Greece,    and    which   consigned   the    my- 


196  TEBIPORAL  BENEFITS  OF 

thology  of  Rome  to  the  amusement  and  ridicule  of 
childhood.  Even  there  where  her  character  was  most 
misunderstood,  so  high  had  she  raised  the  standard  of 
morals,  that  Socrates,  the  boast  of  Greece,  would 
have  been  deemed  impure ;  and  Titus,  the  darling  of 
Rome  and  of  mankind,  would  have  been  denounced 
as  a  monster  of  cruelty.  When  disfigured  to  a  degree 
which  would  have  made  it  difficult  for  her  great  apostle 
to  have  recognized  her,  yet,  like  him,  she  went  about 
"as  poor,  yet  making  many  rich,  as  having  nothing, 
and  yet  possessing  all  things."  Herself  the  victim  of 
universal  selfishness,  she  yet  left  on  every  shore  which 
she  visited  everlastine:  monuments  that  she  had  been 
there,  in  the  hospitals  and  edifices  of  charity  which 
lifted  up  their  heads,  and  in  the  emollient  influences 
which  stole  over  the  heart  of  society. 

We  are  warranted  in  affirming,  then,  that  as  far  as 
the  temporal  welfare  of  man  is  concerned,  the  history 
of  the  past  demonstrates  that  even  the  worst  form  of 
Christianity  is  preferable  to  the  very  best  form  which 
heathenism  ever  knew.  Who  has  not  heard,  for  inr- 
stance,  of  the  atrocities  which  men  called  Christians 
committed  in  her  abused  name  in  South  America  ? 
Yet  even  there,  though  her  pretended  priesthood  was 
an  army,  and  though  they  hewed  their  path  with  the 
sword,  her  humanizing  influence  was  quickly  felt.  No 
longer  are  wives  buried  with  their  deceased  husbands 
in  Congo ;  nor  do  the  aborigines  of  Florida  quench 
the  supposed  thirst  of  their  idol  with  human  blood. 
At  Metamba  they  no  longer  put  the  sick  to  death; 
nor  sacrifice  human  victims  at  funerals  in  Angola. 
No  longer  do  the  inhabitants  of  New  Spain  offer  the 
hearts  of  men  in  sacrifice,  nor  drown  their  children 
in  a  lake  to  keep  company  with  the  idol  supposed  to 
reside  within  it. 

But  why  do  we  speak  of  other  lands  ?  Britain 
itself  owes  every  thing,  under  God,  to  the  influence 
of  the  Gospel.  The  cruelties  of  Rome  did  not 
humanize,    nor    the    northern    superstitions    enlighten 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  1 97 

US.  The  Missionary  who  first  trod  our  shores,  found 
himself  standing  in  the  very  temple  of  Druidism. 
And  wherever  he  turned,  he  heard  the  din  of  its 
noisy  festivals,  saw  the  obscenity  of  its  lascivious  rites, 
and  beheld  its  animal  and  human  victims.  But  Chris- 
tianity had  marked  the  island  for  its  own.  And  al- 
though its  lofty  purposes  are  yet  far  from  being  worked 
out  on  us,  from  that  eventful  moment  to  the  present, 
the  various  parts  of  the  social  system  have  been  ris- 
ing together.  Even  when  most  at  rest,  its  influence 
has  been  silently  penetrating  the  depths  of  society. 
When  most  enfeebled  and  corrupted  itself,  its  authority 
has  been  checking  the  progress  of  social  corruption, 
rendering  law  more  protective,  and  power  more  right- 
eous. When  most  disguised  and  repressed,  its  wisdom 
has  been  modifying  our  philosophy,  and  teaching  a 
loftier  system  of  its  own.  A  Howard,  sounding  and 
circumnavigating  the  ocean  of  human  misery,  is  only 
an  obedient  agent  of  its  philanthropy.  A  Clarkson 
and  a  Wilberforce,  have  only  given  utterance  to  its 
tender  and  righteous  appeals  for  the  slave.  A  Raikes, 
a  Bell,  and  a  Lancaster,  have  simply  remembered 
its  long  neglected  injunction,  ''  Suffer  little  children 
to  come  unto  me."  While  all  its  Sabbaths,  Bibles, 
and  direct  evangelical  ministrations,  are  only  the  appro- 
priate instrumentality  by  which  it  has  ever  been  seek- 
ing to  become  the  power  of  God  to  our  salvation,  and 
preparing  us  for  the  office  to  which  Providence  is  now 
distinctly  calling  us,  to  be  the  Christian  ministers  and 
Missionaries  of  mankind. 

To  have  predicted,  then,  at  the  commencement  of 
modern  Missions,  that  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel  would 
be  attended  with  the  diffusion,  of  at  least,  temporal 
good,  would  only  have  been  making  the  past  the  pro- 
phet of  the  future.  Let  us  proceed  to  inquire  how 
far  such  a  prediction  would  have  been  verified  by  ac- 
tual results. 

1.  Judging  from  the  costly  price  at  which  civilized 

17* 


198  TEMPORAL  BENEFITS  OF 

nations  have  purchased  distinction,  it  would  seem  that 
it  is  no  small  advantage  to  be  known.  Now  there  are 
some  tribes  of  the  human  family  which  are  indebted 
to  Christian  Missions  for  their  discovery.  The  first 
vessel  known  to  have  visited  the  islands  of  Mitiaro, 
Mauke,  and  Rarotonga  was  steered  by  a  Missionary 
of  the  Cross.  While  other  islands,  though  discovered, 
had  not  been  visited,  or  though  visited  had  remained 
almost  entirely  unknown,  until  sought  out  by  Chris- 
tian perseverance  and  compassion.  So  that,  hereafter, 
when  they  shall  have  acquired  historical  importance, 
they  will  have  to  record  that  they  were  called  from 
their  original  obscurity  by  the  servants  of  Him  who 
came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost. 

2.  As  the  primary  object  of  the  Christian  Mis- 
sionary is  to  bring  the  heathens,  to  whom  he  is  sent, 
under  the  influence  of  the  Gospel,  it  is  important 
that  if  they  have  been  accustomed  to  roam  from 
place  to  place  they  should  renounce  their  wandering 
habits,  and  adopt  a  settled  abode.  And,  hence,  one 
of  the  first  and  necessary  consequences  of  a  desire  to 
hear  a  "  man  of  God,"  is,  a  disposition  to  locate  them- 
selves in  his  vicinity.  This  is  the  first  step  of  their 
transition  from  a  horde  of  the  wilderness  to  a  civi- 
lized community.  But  this  has  been  the  almost  uni- 
form effect  of  the  introduction  of  the  Gospel  among 
such  a  people.  Who  does  not  here  think  of  the 
dwellings  of  Nonanetum  rising  around  Eliot  in  the 
wilderness  ?  of  the  twelve  Indian  villages  of  Zeis- 
berger  ?  of  Brainerd's  Indians  coming  from  the  far- 
off  forks  of  the  Delaware  to  his  beloved  Cross  week- 
sung  ;  killing  a  supply  of  deer  that  they  might  be 
able  to  listen  to  him  for  days  together  without  inter- 
ruption ;  and  then  "building  themselves  little  cottages" 
up  to  "  his  own  door  .'^"  and  of  the  Esquimaux  coming 
from  Okkak,  as  far  as  to  the  Moravian  setdement  at 
Hopedale  ?  "  where,"  said  the  Missionary,  "  our  con- 
gregations  are   blooming  like  a  beautiful   rose."     Not 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  199 

more  certainly  was  the  erection  of  the  tabernacle 
in  the  wilderness  a  signal  for  the  Israelites  to  pitch 
their  tents  around  it,  than  the  successful  introduction 
of  the  Gospel  among  a  roving  and  uncivilized  tribe 
has  led  to  their  settlement.  The  North  American 
Indian  emerging  from  his  filthy  wigwam,  the  Green- 
lander  leaving  his  burrow  in  the  snow — compared 
with  which  the  den  of  the  bear  itself  is  inoffensive — 
and  the  Hottentot  coming  in  from  the  bush,  have 
ahke  proceeded  to  prepare  for  themselves  comfortable 
abodes.  The  New  Zealander  may  be  seen  making 
bricks,  and  the  South  Sea  Islander  burning  lime,  for 
the  erection  of  a  house.  "  The  traveller  through 
the  Cherokee  settlements,"  says  the  Report  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Mission  in  x\merica  for  1S35, 
"observing  cottages  erected,  regular  towns  build- 
ing, farms  cultivated,  the  Sabbath  regularly  kept, 
and  almost  an  entire  change  in  the  character  and  pur- 
suits of  the  people,  is  ready  to  ask  with  surprise, 
'  Whence  this  mighty  change  ?'  Our  only  answer  is, 
Such  is  the  effect  of  the  Gospel.  Here  is  a  nation 
at  our  door,  our  neighbours,  of  late  remarkable  for 
their  ferocity  and  ignorance,  now  giving  the  most  strik- 
ing evidence  of  the  utility  of  Missionary  exertions." 

And  "  instead  of  their  [the  South  Sea  Islanders] 
little  contemptible  huts  along  the  sea-beach,  there  will 
be  seen  a  neat  settlement,  with  a  large  chapel  in  the 
centre,  capable  of  containing  one  or  two  thousand  people  ; 
a  school-house  on  the  one  side,  and  the  chief's,  or  the 
Missionary's  house  on  the  other,  and  a  range  of  while 
cottages,  a  mile  or  two  long,  peeping  at  you  from  under 
the  splendid  banana  trees,  or  the  bread  fruit  groves, 
so  that  their  comfort  is  increased,  and  their  character 
is  elevated."^ 

3.  But  when  the  wanderers  of  the  wilderness  or  of 


*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  before  a  Committee  of  the  House 
of  Commons  in  1833-5,  p.  307. 


200  TEMPORAL  BENEFITS  OF 

the  plain  become  localized,  their  erection  of  perma- 
nent dwellings  supposes  many  a  previous  step  of  in- 
struction and  improvement  ;  their  new  condition  en- 
tails on  them  wants  which  they  never  knew  before  ; 
and  labour  becomes  necessary  in  order  to  supply  them. 
Accordingly,  all  the  more  useful  among  the  arts  and 
trades  of  civilized  life  are  to  be  found  accompanying 
the  progress  of  the  Gospel.  In  the  schools  of  Sierra 
Leone,  the  girls  are  taught  to  spin  cotton,  and  the 
boys  to  weave.*  Even  the  New  Hollander  may  be  seen 
ploughing  and  reaping  for  the  INIissionary  ;  and  plant- 
ing corn,  melons,  and  pumpkins  for  himself.f  The 
journal  of  a  Missionary  catechist  at  New  Zealand, 
records  his  daily  superintendence  of  the  natives  while 
occupied  in  the  various  labours  of  the  blacksmith's 
shop,  of  house-building,  and  of  the  plough.  The  tes- 
timony of  Lieutenant  Stockenstrom,  Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor of  the  eastern  division  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  imported,  that  the  land  at  Kat  River  was  culti- 
vated "  to  the  astonishment  of  every  body  who  visited 
it,  in  proportion  to  the  strength  and  means  of  the 
Hottentots. "J  "At  the  station  where  I  live,"  said  the 
head  of  the  Moravian  Missionary  Institution  in  South 
Africa,  "one  half  of  the  population  subsists  by  working 
at  mechanical  arts,  cutlers,  smiths,  joiners,  turners, 
masons,  carpenters,  shoemakers,  tailors,  and  so  on."§ 
"  We  have  ploughing,  wagonmakers,  and  shoemakers, 
and  other  tradesmen  amongst  us,"  said  Andrew  StofFel, 
a  Hottentot  ;  "we  can  make  all  those  things  except  a 
watch,  and  a  coach. "||  The  following  is  a  concise 
enumeration  of  the  useful  arts,  the  animals,  and  the 
vegetable  productions,  which  have  been  introduced  by 
the  Missionaries  into  the  various  stations  they  have 
occupied  in  the  South  Seas. 


*  Evidence  on  the  Abori;?ines,  p.  89. 
+  Idem,  p.  110.  X  Idem,  p.  353. 

§  Idem,  p.  355.  |1  Idem,  p.  360. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS. 


201 


USEFUL   ARTS. 

VEGETABLE  PKODUCTIONS. 

ANIMALS 

Smith's  work. 

A  variety  of  valuable 

Goats. 

House-building. 

esculents. 

Sheep. 

Ship-building, 

Pumpkins,       melons, 

Horses. 

Lime-burning. 

sweet  potatoes,  &;c., 

Asses. 

Turning. 

(Sec. 

Cattle,  &c. 

Sofa,  chair,  and  bed- 

Oranges, lemons,  and 

Pigs   into  s 

stead  making. 

limes. 

islands. 

Growth  and  manufac- 

Pine apples. 

Turkeys. 

ture  of  tobacco. 

Custard  apples. 

Geese. 

Sugar-boiling. 

Coffee. 

Ducks,  &CC. 

Printing. 

Cotton. 
Indigo. 

Fowls.* 

several 


4.  When  the  IMissionary  has  thus  put  a  newly-re- 
claimed people  in  the  way  of  providing  for  their  imme- 
diate wants,  it  might  be  supposed  that  the  next  step 
would  be  to  devote  every  moment  of  their  leisure, 
which  could  be  spared  from  their  religious  instruction, 
to  their  mental  education.  Having  taught  them  the 
alphabet  of  civihzation,  the  alphabet  of  their  own  lan- 
guage would  seem  naturally  to  follow.  But  perhaps 
the  language  is  without  an  alphabet.  In  many  instances, 
the  modern  Missionary^  like  an  Ulphilas,  a  Patricius, 
and  a  Cyril  of  earlier  times,  has  given  to  the  people 
a  loritten  language.  From  the  time  when  the  "  Indian 
Evangelist"  reduced  the  Massachusetts  Indian  languagef 
to  form,  in  1660,  down  to  the  present  day,  when  the 
New  Zealander,  the  CafFre,  and  the  Rarotongian,  are 
just  beginning  to  learn  the  written  signs  of  their  re- 
spective tongues,  this  is  a  benefit  which  the  Christian 
Missionary  has  often  conferred.  With  scarcely  any 
aid  besides  that  which  they  derive  from  the  oral  and 
uncertain  explanations  of  the  natives,  the  Missionaries 
of  a  single  American  Society  have  constructed  the 
framework  of,  at  least,  seven  languages  from  the  foun- 
dation ;  form.ing  the  alphabet,  determining  the  orthog- 
raphy, arranging  the  grammar,  and  presenting  the 
whole   in  a  written   form  :   and,   where  circumstances 

*  William's  Missionary  Enterprise,  pp.  578,  579. 
t  Of  which  Mather  said  that  the  words  looked  as  if  they  had 
been  growing  ever  since  the  confusion  of  Babel. 


202  TEMPORAL  BENEFITS  OF 

have  required,  other  societies  have  been  proportionally 
useful  in  conferring  on  the  heathen  the  same  benefit. 
Qualified  Missionaries  are  employed  at  the  present 
time  in  reducing  to  a  written  form  the  Australian, 
Foulah,  Mandingo,  and  other  languages.  In  this  way, 
Christian  Missions  are  incidentally  laying  the  founda- 
tion for  all  the  literature  which  the  millions  of  these 
various  nations  may  ever  possess.  Besides  which,  the 
treasures  contained  in  the  Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin, 
French,  German,  and  English  languages,  are  in  the 
process  of  transmission  into  all  the  written  and  unwrit- 
ten tongues  which  our  Missionaries  employ. 

5.  The  next  step  in  the  civilizing  process,  is  educa- 
tion. As  the  Missionary  does  not  address  the  heathen 
in  his  own  name,  but  in  the  name  of  God  ;  and  as  the 
book  containing  the  will  of  God  is  made  ready  to 
their  hands,  what  more  natural  than  a  mutual  anxiety 
that  they  should  be  able  to  consult  it  ?  Accordingly, 
as  soon  as  possible,  every  Mission  opens  its  infant, 
youth,  and  adult  schools  ;  and  the  natives  generally 
both  hasten  to  it  themselves,  and  send  their  children. 
About  two  hundred  thousand  children  and  adults  are 
now  receiving  instruction  through  the  agency  of  Mis- 
sionaries ;  perhaps,  nearly  an  equal  number  have  al- 
ready enjoyed  it.  Here  may  be  seen  the  infant  learn- 
er, who,  but  for  the  timely  interposition  of  the  Chris- 
tian Missionary,  would  have  been  immolated,  as  all  his 
brothers  and  sisters  had  been ;  and  there  may  be  seen 
the  hand  that  would  have  done  it,  tracing  the  alphabet. 
Here,  the  parent  is  seen  learning  of  his  child ;  and 
there  the  female  is  seen  imparting  instruction,  where, 
once,  her  presence  would  have  been  deemed  pollu- 
tion, and  have  incurred  her  destruction.  Who  does 
not  prospectively  recognize  in  many  of  those  youth- 
ful pupils  the  future  instructor  of  other  tribes,  and  the 
Missionary  to  distant  lands  ?  Who  does  not  see, 
in  many  of  those  schools,  the  promise  of  theological 
seminaries,  and  the  germ  of  future  colleges  ?  And  in 
the  Press,  with  which  many  of  them  are  connected,  who 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  203 

does  not  recognize  the  sure  prevention  of  a  return  to 
barbarism,  and  the  foundation  of  national  cultivation 
and  of  future  mental  greatness  ? 

6.  Education  tends,  in  a  variety  of  ways,  to  create 
a  demand  for  the  institution  of  laws.  By  teaching 
them  to  read,  a  people  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the 
customs  and  advantages  of  law  in  civilized  lands  ;  by 
enlightening  their  minds,  such  knowledge  shows  them 
the  evils  which  they  have  suffered  from  the  want  of  law  ; 
by  quickening  their  moral  nature,  it  awakens  a  craving 
after  a  rule  to  walk  by  ;  and,  by  thus  humanizing  them, 
it  prepares  them  to  conform  to  the  law  enacted.  Hence, 
the  Missionary,  as  their  only  adviser  and  friend,  is  often 
called  on  to  become,  in  effect,  their  lawgiver.  The 
Cherokees  of  North  America,*  and  the  Caffres  of  the 
Litde  Namaquas,  have  their  respective  codes. f  The 
Sandwich  Islands  recognize  the  authority  of  law. 
Formerly,  in  the  island  of  Rarotonga,  "  the  king,  when 
a  thief  was  caught  upon  his  premises,  would  have  him 
cut  up,  and  portions  of  his  body  hung  in  different  parts  of 
the  farm  on  which  the  depredation  had  been  committed. 
But  when  Christianity  was  embraced  by  them,  they 
saw  immediately  that  such  sanguinary  proceedings  were 
inconsistent  with  the  benign  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  and 
they  inquired  of  us  what  would  be  done  in  England, 
and  what  was  consistent  with  the  Christian  profession  ? 
We  informed  them  that  there  were  judges  in  England, 
and  all  such  offences  were  tried  regularly,  and  particular 
punishments  awarded.  They  immediately  said,  '  Will 
it  not  be  well  for  us  to  have  the  same  ?'  and,  after 
months'  and  months'  consultation  with  them,  and  ex- 
plaining those  things  to  them,  a  very  simple  code  was 
drawn  up."|  The  Tahitians  have  also  a  simple, 
explicit,  and  wholesome  code  of  laws,  as  the  result  of 
their  imbibing  the  principles  of  Christianity.  This 
code  of  laws  is  printed  and  circulated  among  them, 


*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  51. 
t  Idem,  p.  157.  :j:  Idem,  p.  300. 


204  TEMPORAL  BENEFITS  OF 

understood  by  all,  and  acknowledged  by  all,  as  the 
supreme  rule  of  action  for  all  classes  in  their  civil  and 
social  relations.  The  laws  have  been  productive  of 
great  benefits  ;*  and  of  these  benefits  all  the  Society 
Islands  are  more  or  less  partakers.  To  the  practical 
working  of  these  laws,  impartial  and  ample  testimony 
has  been  borne  as  to  ''one  of  the  greatest  temporal 
blessings  they  have  derived  from  the  introduction  of 
Christianity. "f  By  making  the  New  Testament  the 
basis  of  their  civil  enactments,  they  have  placed  their 
government  under  the  Divine  protection,  and  laid  a 
foundation  for  lasting  national  prosperity. 

7.  To  say  that  the  Gospel  has  erected  a  standard  of 
morality  among  those  of  whom  we  are  speaking,  is  only 
to  state  what  is  clearly  implied  in  the  paragraph  pre- 
ceding ;  for  it  is  not  until  men  are  becoming  a  law  unto 
themselves,  that  they  begin  to  think  of  enacting  rules 
for  their  own  conduct,  or  for  that  of  others.  To  say 
that  they  have  been  rendered  moral,  compared  with 
their  idolatrous  fellow-countrymen,  would  be  to  fall 
far  short  of  the  truth ;  in  many  respects  their  example 
is  a  loud  lecture  on  morality  to  the  civilized  Britain. 
Not  in  vain  has  the  Bible  said  to  the  Sandwich  Island- 
ers, "  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery  ;"  having  enacted 
a  law  in  1825,  prohibiting  the  sins  which  violate  that 
law,  and  having  extended  it  to  foreign  visitors  as  well 
as  to  themselves,  "the  rage  of  the  former,  who  came 
in  the  ships  in  the  autumn  of  the  year,  was  such,  that 
ihey  could  scarcely  be  restrained  from  acts  of  the  most 
violent  outrage."  "Once,"  write  the  Missionaries,  "  we 
thought  a  single  couple  would  be  exposed  to  insult 
from  the  natives ;  now  the  natives  are  a  defence  from 
lawless  foreigners,  to  whose  violence  we  are  all  ex- 
posed, "f  Not  in  vain  has  the  Gospel  said  to  the  New 
Zealander,  "Let  him  that  stole,  steal  no  more:"  "ten 
years  ago,  a  person  scarcely  dared  to  lay  a  tool  down, 


*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  180. 
t  Idem,  p.  182.  :j:  Idem,  pp.  42—44. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  205 

as  it  was  almost  sure  to  be  stolen ;  now,  locks  and 
bolts  are  but  little  used,  and  but  little  needed ;  working 
tools  are  safe  although  lying  in  all  directions."*  Not 
in  vain  for  the  Hottentot  and  the  Tahitian,  has  the 
Bible  denounced  drunkenness ;  the  former  has  peti- 
tioned from  Kat  River  that  no  canteens  might  be 
allowed  in  the  settlement;  the  latter  has  enacted  a 
law  which  prohibits  trade  with  ships  which  come  for 
the  purpose  of  introducing  ardent  spirits ;  and,  indeed, 
the  island  of  Porapora  is  the  only  one  that  retains  the 
use  of  ardent  spirits  in  the  whole  of  the  Tahitian  and 
Society  Island  group. f  The  Honourable  Justice 
Burton  informed  Doctor  Philip  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  after  a  circuit  tour,  that  he  had  made  three 
journeys  over  the  colony,  as  a  circuit  Judge ;  that 
during  these  circuits,  he  had  had  nine  hundred  cases 
before  him,  and  that  only  two  of  these  cases  were  con- 
nected with  Hottentots  who  belonged  to  Missionary 
institutions,  and  that  neither  of  them  was  an  aggravated 
case.  On  a  comparison  of  the  population  at  the  Mis- 
sionary stations  with  that  of  the  rest  of  the  colony 
which  was  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  circuit  court, 
the  fact  stated  by  the  judge  marked  the  proportion 
of  the  crimes  as  one  to  thirty-five. | 

8.  If,  in  some  instances,  heathen  tribes  are  indebted 
to  Christian  Missionaries  for  their  discovery,  in  still 
more,  probably,  have  they  been  saved^  by  the  same 
agency,  from  extinction.  A  competent  witness  testifies, 
in  his  "Evidence  on  the  Aborigines, "§  that  wherever 
the  Gospel  has  not  been  introduced  among  the  Indians 
of  Upper  Canada,  there  the  process  by  which  the  dimi- 
nution of  their  numbers  is  effected  is  steadily  going  on ; 
but  wherever  Christianity  has  been  established,  there  a 
check  has  been  opposed  to  the  process  of  destruction ; 
and  on  the  older  stations,  among  the  tribes  that  have 
been  the  greatest  length  of  time  under  the  influence  of 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  119. 

t  Idem,  pp.  351;  301;  276. 

:j:  Tract  Society  publication.  ^  p.  145. 

18 


206  TEMPORAL  BENEFITS  OF 

Christian  principles,  there  the  proportion  has  begun 
somewhat  to  increase."  The  Missionary  establishments 
have  "unquestionably  done  much  good,"  said  Major 
Dundas,*  "  in  bringing  together,  and  in  keeping  together, 
the  wrecks  of  the  Hottentot  nation."  The  depopulation 
of  the  Sandwich  and  South  Sea  Islands,  since  the  time 
of  their  discovery  by  Captain  Cook,  is  truly  fearful. 
His  estimate  of  the  number  of  the  inhabitants  was 
probably  much  too  high ;  but,  within  the  memory  of 
the  Missionaries,  the  prevalence  of  wars  of  extermination, 
of  infanticide,  and  the  introduction  of  European  diseases 
and  vices,  had  reduced  the  population  of  some  of  the 
islands  from  thousands  to  hundreds,  and  of  others  from 
hundreds  to  tens.  But  the  Christian  Missionary  "stood 
between  the  dead  and  the  living,  and  the  plague  was 
stayed."  Since  Christianity  has  prevailed  among  the 
people,  there  has  been  a  reaction ;  the  population  is 
supposed  to  have  increased  about  one-fourth.  Thus  the 
Gospel  came  between  them  and  annihilation.  | 

9.  Missionaries  frequently  act  the  part  of  mediators 
between  chiefs  and  tribes  at  variance,  and  have  thus 
been  the  means  of  arresting  many  a  sanguinary  conflict, 
and  of  reconciling  the  parties  to  each  other.  On  some 
of  these  occasions  they  volunteer  their  mediation,  bring 
the  hostile  chiefs  together,  and  continue  to  exert  their 
peaceful  influence,  till  a  friendship  is  effected.  But  so 
well  is  their  peacemaking  character  known,  and  so 
highly  is  it  esteemed,  even  by  those  natives  who  have 
not  embraced  Christianity,  that  they  are  often  sent  for 
to  interpose ;  and,  generally,  from  the  moment  they 
come  between  the  parties  at  issue,  the  breach  is  con- 
sidered to  be  as  good  as  healed.  Even  when  the  hostile 
ranks  have  been  confronted  with  thousands  on  a  side, 
ready  at  a  word  to  rush  in  savage  and  deadly  encounter, 
the  Missionary  has  pitched  his  tent  of  peace  between, 
and,  for  days  together,  has  gone  from  tribe  to  tribe,  and 


*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  347. 
t  Idem,   pp.  51,  292. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  20f 

from  chief  to  chief,  till  they  came  to  a  resolution  of 
peace.* 

10.  But,  if  the  Christian  Missionary  confers  a  benefit 
on  heathen  tribes  in  preventing  wars  of  extermination, 
and  saving  them  from  extinction,  still  more  does  he 
serve  them,  according  to  the  ordinary  mode  of  calcula- 
tion, by  rescuing  their  mental  character  from  undeserved 
ignominy^  and  restoring  them  to  the  rank  of  our  common 
humanity.  A  false  philosophy,  while  complacently 
monopolizing  all  the  genuine  philanthrophy  to  be  found  in 
the  world,  has  yet  most  strangely  evinced  its  philan- 
thropy by  consigning  a  large  proportion  of  the  species 
to  neglect  and  extermination  as  irreclaimably  degenerate 
and  savage.  The  advocates  of  such  a  philosophy,  while 
affecting  this  superiority  over  their  brother  savage,  must 
have  forgotten  that  those  very  airs  are  among  the  certain 
marks  of  an  imperfect  civilization ;  that  they  are  shared 
by  every  untutored  tribe  on  the  face  of  the  earth ;  and 
that  there  was  a  time,  in  the  history  of  Britain,  when 
the  ancestors  of  those  very  philcsoohcrs  v/ere  deemed  by 
similar  philosophers  at  Rome  to  be  too  stupid  even  for 
slaves — when  Cicero  could  advise  his  friend  Atticus  not 
to  obtain  his  slaves  from  Britain,  "  because  they  are  so 
stupid,  and  utterly  incapable  of  being  taught,  that  they 
are  unfit  to  form  a  part  of  the  household  of  Atticus." 
But  that  which  the  Gospel  effected  for  us,  its  modern 
Missionaries  are  accomplishing,  under  God,  for  the 
slandered  heathen  of  the  present  day.  The  Moravian 
Missionaries  soon  discovered,  when  the  Gospel  began  to 
affect  the  Greenlander,  that  his  previous  condition  had 
been  one,  not  of  hopeless  stupidity,  but  of  utter  igno- 
rance ;  that  in  proportion  as  the  influence  of  grace  pre- 
vailed on  his  heart,  his  torpid  mind  awoke  and  came 
forth  ;  that  the  dawning  of  spiritual  hght,  hke  the 
return  of  the  sun  after  the  one  long  night  of  his  own 
winter,  ended  both  his  brutishness  and  his  vice,  and  gave 

*  Missionary  Enterprise,  p.  457:  and  Evidence  on  the  Aborigi- 
nes, pp.  15,  211—218. 


203  TEMPORAL  BENEFITS  OF 

him  a  mind  and  a  heart  together.*  The  Hottentot, 
through  all  his  varieties,  is  found  as  eager  for  instruc- 
tion, and  as  capable  of  cultivation,  as  the  European 
himself.f  The  liberated  negro  child  at  Sierra  Leone, 
is  soon  found  worthy  of  being  prepared  to  become  a 
native  teacher.  While  the  enslaved  adult  negroes  have 
abundantly  proved  their  equality,  at  least,  to  those  who 
have  held  them  in  bondage.  "Your  Missionaries  have 
determined  that ;  they  have  dived  into  that  mine  from 
which  we  were  often  told  no  valuable  ore  or  precious 
stone  could  be  extracted  ;  and  they  have  brought  up  the 
gem  of  an  immortal  spirit,  flashing  with  the  light  of 
intellect,  and  glowing  with  the  hues  of  Christian 
graces. "f  Even  the  native  children  of  New  Holland, 
placed  by  common  consent  in  the  lowest  grade  of 
humanity,  are  found  in  no  degree  inferior  in  intellect 
or  ability  to  learn,  to  children  in  general  in  an  English 
school. §  How  mighty  must  that  influence  be  which  can 
thus  disinter  the  mental  faculties,  and  quicken  into 
quivering  sensibility  what  appeared  to  be  a  mass  of  un- 
conscious brutality  !  And  how  beneficent  that  agency 
which  takes  whole  tribes  and  nations,  whom  a  worldly 
philosophy  had  struck  out  from  the  family  of  man,  and 
exalts  them,  through  grace,  into  the  family  of  God. 

]  1 .  Christian  Missions  have  proved  eminently  bene- 
ficial in  affording  protection  to  the  oppressed^  and  in 
procuring  liberty  for  the  enslaved.  At  some  stations, 
the  mere  presence  of  the  Misssionary  has  proved  a 
salutary  check  on  the  lawless  barbarities  which  Euro- 
peans had  been  accustomed  to  commit  on  the  Aborigines. 
At  others,  he  has  obtained  magisterial  interference  in 
behalf  of  the  oppressed,  and  has  secured  their  rights  in 
defiance  of  their  cruel  taskmasters.  In  one  place,  he 
has  guarded  against  the  danger  of  domestic  slavery  by 
inducing  the  natives  themselves  to  prohibit  it  by  law. 

*  Game's  Lives  of  Eminent  Missionaries,  vol.  i.  p.  247. 
f  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  pp.  350 — 353 ;  also  p.  104. 
i  Rev.  R.  Watson  on  the  Religious  Instruction  of  the  Slaves. 
^  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  107, 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  209 

In  another,  he  may  be  seen  hastening  with  presents  to 
ransom  captives  taken  in  war.  While  in  other  instances, 
the  influence  of  that  Gospel  which  he  has  preached  has 
induced  the  converted  natives  voluntarily  to  break  the 
chain  of  their  slaves  and  to  let  them  go  free.* 

But  the  great  triumphs  of  Christian  Missions,  in 
ameliorating  the  state  of  the  slave  colonies,  and  libe- 
rating the  slave,  have  yet  to  be  recorded.  No  one 
acquainted  with  the  history  of  negro  emancipation  will 
for  a  moment  question  that  these  happy  results  w^ere 
hastened  and  ejected  by  Providence,  through  the  moral 
influence  of  Christian  Missions.  The  Ordinance  issued 
at  the  Cape,  in  1828,  by  the  provisions  of  which  the 
Hottentots  and  other  fi'ee  persons  of  colour  within  the 
colony  were  placed  on  a  civil  and  political  equality  with 
the  white  colonists,  was  the  undeniable  effect  of  Mis- 
sionary perseverance  and  fidelity.  The  publication  of 
"  Researches  in  South  Africa,"  and  the  proclamation  of 
this  African  Bill  of  rights — this  Magna  Charta  of  the 
Hottentot  nation — stand  together  in  the  relation  of  cause 
and  efTect. 

The  great  Act,  which  enacted  that,  "  from  the  first  of 
August,  18o4,  slavery  be  utterly  and  for  ever  abolished 
throughout  the  British  colonies,  plantations,  and  pos- 
sessions abroad,"  was  doubtless  the  result,  chiefly,  of 
Missionary  influence.  By  bringing  to  light  the  real 
condition  of  the  slave — his  brutal  ignorance  and  heart- 
rending wrongs — the  religious  part  of  the  community 
had  long  been  preparing  for  some  great  movement  in 
his  behalf.  By  the  frantic  and  murderous  violence  with 
which  some  of  the  planters  assailed  the  men  who  were 
engaged  in  his  instruction,  the  people  of  England  were 
ultimately  aroused  to  petition  Parliament  for  the  over- 
throw of  the  system.  And  by  the  influence  of  the 
compassion  thus  awakened,  and  which  stopped  not  to 
count   the    ransom  for  sufi'ering  humanity,    the  nation 


*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  pp.  5—21,  30—35,  157,   238,   247. 
Missionary  Enterprises,  p.  325. 

IS* 


210  TEMPORAL  BENEFITS  OF 

generously  cast  twenty  millions  at  the  feet  of  the  slave- 
holder, as  the  price  of  the  negroes'  deliverance.  Thus 
humanity  triumphed  through  religion,  and  religion 
through  her  Missionaries.  Nor  have  their  services  in 
the  cause  of  the  negro  been  less  important  since  the  Act 
of  Emancipation  took  effect.  On  the  recorded  testimony 
of  colonial  governors,  we  learn,  that  to  their  invaluable 
influence  partly  it  is  to  be  ascribed  that  the  colonies 
have  been  brought  so  safely  as  they  have  through  the 
successive  stages  of  the  critical  transition.  And  from 
what  we  know  of  the  past,  we  may  confidently  add, 
that  not  only  have  their  known  character  and  activity 
as  the  friend  of  the  negro,  tended  to  check  his  distrust 
and  impatience,  and  to  inspire  him  with  confidence,  but 
that  the  same  causes  have  equally  tended  to  secure  for 
him,  what  otherwise  he  would  not  speedily  have  obtained, 
the  unperverted  operation  of  the  Act  which  treats  him 
as  "a  man  and  a  brother." 

12.  But  Colonial  Slavery  is  only  one  of  a  long  cata- 
logue of  evils  which  Christianity  has  blotted  out  by  the 
hand  of  her  Missionaries.  If  the  tapii,  one  of  the 
chief  obstacles  to  New  Zealand  civilization,  has  been  abo- 
lished, it  is  to  be  ascribed  entirely,  under  God,  to  "the 
agency  of  Missionaries."*  If  habitual  idleness,  one  of 
the  most  prolific  evils  of  savagelife,  has  been  extensively 
replaced  by  honest  industry,  the  change  has  been  effected 
entirely  by  the  new  wants  and  habits  which  Christianity 
has  created,  and  by  Missionary  instruction  in  the  arts  of 
civilization.  If  an  order  in  Council  has  been  issued  for 
the  suppression  of  the  pilgrim  tax  in  India,  it  was 
obtained  by  the  expression  of  Christian  opinion  in  this 
country,  and  that  opinion  was  sustained  and  made  active 
by  the  representation  of  our  Missionaries  there.  If  a 
cannibal  would  now  be  sought  for  in  vain,  or  an  altar 
stained  with  the  blood  of  human  sacrifices,  throughout 
nearly  the  whole  nation  of  Polynesian  Asiatics,  the 
glory  of  the   happy   change  redounds   entirely   to   the 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  218. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  211 

influence  of  the  Gospel.  If  the  fearful  trade  of  the 
"  infant  killer  "  has  ceased  to  exist  throughout  the  same 
vast  region  ;  and  if  the  Ganges  no  longer  receives  its 
accustomed  number  of  new-born  babes,  it  is  because  the 
Gospel  is  going  through  the  world  restoring  a  heart  to 
the  human  bosom.  If  the  Indian  suttee  no  longer 
receives  its  annual  holocaust  of  30,000  widows,  it  is 
because  its  unholy  fires  have  been  dimmed,  and  all  but 
extinguished,  by  the  rising  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness. 
If  Brahminism  is  rapidly  falling  into  discredit,  and  the 
cruelties  and  immolations  practised  in  honour  of  the 
Indian  Moloch,  greatly  diminished,  Christianity  has  been 
mainly  instrumental  in  producing  the  change.  In  a 
word,  if  populous  islands  and  regions  of  the  earth  have 
been  lately  wrested  from  the  empire  of  idolatry,  and 
brought  under  the  happy  influence  of  an  enlightened 
civilization,  the  change  has  been  efiected  by  the  blessing 
of  God  on  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel. 

13.  Among  the  most  distinguished  benefits  accruing 
to  the  heathen  world  from  Christian  Missions — so  dis- 
tinguished that  we  deem  it  worthy  of  separate  notice — 
is  their  elevating  effect  on  the  moral  character  and 
social  rank  of  woman.  Wherever  our  Missionaries  have 
gone  they  have  found  that  degradation  is  the  condition 
of  the  sex,  and  insult  and  suffering  its  reward.  Of  the 
Chinese  women,  Gutzlaff  writes,  they  are  the  slaves 
and  concubines  of  their  masters,  live  and  die  in  igno- 
rance, and  every  attempt  to  raise  themselves  above  the 
rank  assigned  them,  is  regarded  as  impious  arrogance.* 
As  might  be  expected,  suicide  is  a  refuge  to  which 
thousands  of  these  ignorant  idolaters  fly.f  And  a 
large  proportion  of  their  new-born  female  children  is 
destroyed.  Even  in  Pekin,  the  residence  of  the  em- 
peror, about  4000  are  annually  murdered  ;i  and  to  ask 
a  man  of  any  distinction  whether  he  has  daughters, 
is  a  mark  of  great  rudeness. §     The   condition  of  the 

*  Preface  to  Voyages,  p.  xxiv. 

t  Abeel's  Appeal  to  Christian  Ladies. 

i  Abeel.  §  Gutzlaff. 


212  TEMPOEAL  BENEFITS  OF 

Hindoo  women  is,  if  possible,  worse.  "  Any  thing,  "says 
Bishop  Heber,*  ^'  is  thought  good  enough  for  them  ;  and 
the  roughest  words,  the  poorest  garments,  the  scantiest 
alms,  the  most  degrading  labour,  and  the  hardest  blows, 
are  generally  their  portion."  And  yet  China  and  India 
alone,  are  at  this  moment  holding  two  hundred  millions 
of  immortal  beings  in  this  abject  condition  !  If  there 
are  those  who  can  account  for  the  entailed  slavery  of 
the  negro  race,  only  by  resolving  it  into  a  divine  male- 
diction, where  is  the  curse  recorded  which  can  account 
for  the  social  slavery  and  wretchedness  of  one  half  of 
the  human  race  ?  For,  be  it  remembered  that  Divine 
Christianity  is  the  only  system  which  denounces  the 
enormity.  Mahometanism  adds  its  authority  to  that  of 
Hindooism  and  Budhism,  in  excluding  woman,  by 
system,  from  instruction  ;  and  in  pronouncing  her  soul- 
less and  irreclaimably  wicked.  But  if  such  be  the 
verdict  of  civilized  heathenism,  what  may  we  expect  to 
be  her  doom  in  uncivilized  lands  ?  To  be  prohibited 
from  certain  kinds  of  food  which  are  reserved  for  the 
men  and  the  gods,  and  from  dwelling  under  the  same 
roof  with  their  tyrannical  masters,  are  among  the  lighter 
parts  of  their  fate.  Well  might  the  female  barbarian 
of  North  America  look  on  the  coming  of  Eliot  as  that 
of  an  angel.f  Well  might  the  CafFres  denominate  a 
Missionary,  "  The  shield  of  women. "J  While  every 
other  system  makes  her  (he  butt  of  their  cruel  shafts, 
the  effect  of  the  Gospel  is  to  provide  her  with  a  shield. 
By  exalting  marriage,  and  denouncing  licentiousness  in 
all  its  forms,  it  provides  for  her  the  honourable  relation 
of  a  wife,  and  the  comforts  of  a  home.  By  discoun- 
tenancing polygamy,  it  dries  up  unnumbered  sources 
of  domestic  discord,  and  challenges  for  her  the  undivided 
affections  of  her  husband.  By  extinguishing  infanticide, 
and  inculcating  the  parental  duties,  it  multiplies  the  ties 
of  conjugal  endearment,  and  increases  her  importance  to 

*  Twenty-fourth  Report  of  B.  and  F.  S.  S.,  p.  39. 

f  Carne,  vol.  i.  p.  19. 

I  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  323. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  213 

the  welfare  of  her  family.  And  by  developing  her  mind, 
and  exalting  her  character,  it  adds  respect  to  domestic 
love,  and  renders  her  influence  useful  and  lasting.  All 
this  Christianity  has  done.  Ten  thousand  happy  Poly- 
nesian, African  and  negro  homes  attest  it.  And  the 
operations  of  the  "  Society  for  promoting  Female  Edu- 
cation in  China,  India,  and  the  East,"  are  calcula- 
ted, by  the  Divine  blessing,  to  increase  their  number. 

Now  that  the  benefits  which  we  have  enumerated  are 
among  the  results  of  Christian  Missions,  is  become  an 
established  and  familiar  fact.  To  ask  for  any  vouchers 
of  the  truth  of  our  representation,  beyond  those  which 
we  have  given,  would  betray  ignorance  of  the  passing 
events  of  the  day,'  and  an  anxiety  for  something  more 
and  other  than  the  truth.  "  These  things  have  not 
been  done  in  a  corner. "  The  narratives  of  impartial 
witnesses  have  recorded  them.  A  succession  of  officers 
in  the  Army  and  Navy,  have  borne  spontaneous  tes- 
timony to  them.  They  are  registered  in  Colonial  Re- 
ports, and  taken  for  granted  in  Government  Despatches. 
Our  commerce  wafts  us  to  them ;  and  the  reclaimed 
idolaters  themselves  have  come  amongst  us,  as  the  re- 
presentatives of  their  fellow-countrymen,  to  exhibit  in 
their  own  persons  the  value  of  the  Missionary  enter- 
prise. Even  the  anti-supernaturahst,  who  regards  their 
conversion  as  the  natural  result  of  their  contact  with 
Missionary  morality  and  intelligence,  does  not  hesitate 
to  ascribe  it  to  Missionary  instrumentality.  So  impor- 
tant an  element  of  civilization  has  that  agency  become, 
that  the  continental  literati  and  savans — the  Balbis  and 
KiefFers,  the  JoufFroys,  Remusats,  and  Klaproths,  regard 
it  with  atlmiration.  So  conspicuous  are  its  triumphs, 
that  Rome  itself,  in  the  spirit  of  envy  or  emulation,  is 
essaying  to  achieve  the  same  with  her  enchantments. 
And  so  demonstrable  and  valuable  is  its  practical  bear- 
ing on  the  temporal  welfare  of  man,  that  the  highest 
municipal  body  in  the  kingdom  has  given  it  aid  ;  "not 
as  forming  a  precedent  to  assist  merely  religious  Mis- 
sions, nor  as  preferring  any  sect  or  party,  but  to  be  an 


214  TEMPORAL  BENEFITS  OF 

extraordinary  donation  for  promoting  the  great  cause 
of  civilization,  and  the  moral  improvement  of  our  common 
species.^''  While  the  inquiries  of  our  legislature  in 
seeking  "Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,"  have  established 
the  fact,  that  Christian  Missionaries  are  the  great  agents 
of  civilization,  and  rank  amongst  the  most  distinguished 
benefactors  of  mankind. 

The  social  and  moral  advantages,  then,  which  the 
Missionary  enterprise  has  conferred  on  the  heathen, 
are  before  the  world.  And  had  the  good  which  it 
has  imparted  terminated  here,  who  does  not  feel  that 
it  would  have  amply  repaid  the  cost  and  toil  with 
which  they  have  been  attended  ?  What  vast  tracts 
has  it  rescued  from  barbarism,  and  with  what  creations 
of  benevolence  has  it  clothed  them  !  How  many  thou- 
sands whom  ignorance  and  selfishness  had  branded  as 
the  leavings  and  refuse  of  ilie  species,  if  not  actually 
akin  to  the  beasis  that  perish,  are  at  this  moment  rising 
under  its  fostering  care,  ascribing  their  enfranchisement, 
under  God,  to  its  betiign  interposition ;  taking  encou- 
ragement from  its  smiles  to  assume  the  port  and  bearing 
of  men ;  and,  by  their  acts  and  aspirations,  retrieving 
the  character  and  dignity  of  the  slandered  human  form ! 
When  did  literature  accomplish  so  much  for  nations 
destitute  of  a  written  language }  or,  education  pierce 
and  light  u})  so  large  and  dense  a  mass  of  human 
ignorance  ?  When  did  humanity  save  so  many  lives,  or 
cause  so  many  sanguinary  "wars  to  cease  .^"  How 
many  a  sorrow  has  it  soodied  ;  how  many  an  injury 
arrested  ;  how  many  an  asylum  has  it  reared  amidst 
scenes  of  wretchedness  and  oppression  for  the  orphan, 
the  outcast,  and  the  sufferer  !  When  did  liberty  ever 
rejoice  in  a  greater  triumph  than  that  which  Missionary 
instrumentality  has  been  the  means  of  achieving  ?  or 
civilization  find  so  many  sons  of  the  wilderness  learning 
her  arts,  and  agriculture,  and  commerce  .''  or  law  receive 
so  much  voluntary  homage  from  those  who  but  yesterday 
were  strangers  to  the  name }  By  erecting  a  standard 
of  morality,  how  vast  the  amount  of  crime  which  it 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  215 

has  been  the  means  of  preventing !  By  asserting  the 
claims  of  degraded  woman,  how  powerful  an  instrument 
of  social  regeneration  is  it  preparing  for  the  future  ? 
And  by  doing  all  this  by  the  principle  and  power  of 
all  moral  order  and  excellence — the  Gospel  of  Christ — 
how  large  a  portion  of  the  world's  chaos  has  it  restored 
to  light,  and  harmony,  and  peace ! 

Had  human  philosophy  effected  such  results  as  these 
— or  only  a  thousandth  part  of  them — how  soon  would 
her  image  be  set  up,  and  what  multitudes  would  fall 
down  and  worship  !  By  leaving  a  single  esculent  on  an 
island,  Kotzebue  plumed  himself  with  the  assurance 
of  having  secured  its  ultimate  civilization. 

But  great  as  are  the  benefits  which  we  have  enu- 
merated, and  most  of  which  can  in  a  sense,  be  seen, 
and  measured,  and  handled,  we  venture  to  affirm  that 
those  which  are  at  present  comparatively  impalpable 
and  undeveloped  are  greater  still.  The  unseen,  is  far 
greater  than  that  which  appears.  The  Missionary  has 
been  planting  the  earth  with  principles  ;  and  these  are 
of  as  much  greater  value  than  the  visible  benefits  which 
they  have  already  produced,  as  the  tree  is  more  valuable 
than  its  first  year's  fruit.  The  tradesman  may  take 
stock  and  calculate  his  pecuniary  affairs  to  a  fraction  ; 
the  astronomer  may  count  the  stars  ;  and  the  chemist 
weigh  the  invisible  element  of  air ;  but  he  who  in  the 
strength  of  God  conveys  a  great  truth  to  a  distant  region, 
or  puts  into  motion  a  divine  principle,  has  performed 
a  work  of  which  futurity  alone  can  disclose  the  results. 
At  no  one  former  period  could  either  of  our  Missionary 
Societies  have  attempted  to  ''number  Israel" — to 
reduce  to  figures  either  the  geographical  extent  or  the 
practical  results  of  its  influence,  without  having  soon 
received,  in  the  cheering  events  which  followed,  a  dis- 
tinct but  gracious  rebuke.  How  erroneous  the  calcu- 
lation which  should  have  set  down  the  first  fifteen 
years  of  fruitless  Missionary  labour  in  Greenland,  or 
the  sixteen  in  Tahiti,  or  the  twenty  in  New  Zealand, 
as  years  of  entire  failure  !  when,  in  truth,  the  glorious 


216  TEMPORAL  BENEFITS  OF 

scene  which  then  ensued,  was  simply  that  which  God 
was  pleased  to  make  the  result  of  all  that  had  preceded 
— the  explosion,  by  the  divine  hand,  of  a  train  which 
had  been  lengthening  and  enlarging  during  every  moment 
of  all  those  years.  So  that  were  the  whole  field  of 
Missions  to  be  suddenly  vacated,  and  all  its  moral 
machinery  at  once  withdrawn,  we  confidently  beheve 
that  the  amount  of  temporal  good,  arising  from  what 
has  been  done,  will  be  much  greater  twenty  years  hence 
than  it  is  at  present. 

Who  can  say,  for  instance,  to  what  extent  the  entire 
fabric  of  idolatry  is  undermined  ?  remembering  the 
fact  that  the  Sandwich  Islands  abandoned  their  gods 
at  the  mere  rumor  of  Tahiti's  conversion,  and  before 
a  Christian  Missionary  had  approached  them ;  although 
that  report  had  to  be  borne  across  the  waters  nearly 
three  thousand  miles.  Who  can  walk  to  the  circum- 
ference of  the  moral  circle  of  which  a  Missionary 
station  is  the  centre,  and  say,  here  its  useful  influence 
will  be  exhausted  ?  For  the  Gospel  moralizes  even 
Vi^hen  it  does  not  convert ;  and  where  it  does  not  so 
much  as  induce  the  abandonment  of  idolatry.  It 
checks  unnumbered  evils,  unveils  the  deformity  of  vice, 
restores  the  lost  influence  of  shame,  and  thus  graduelly 
diminishes  crime,  and  raises  the  moral  tone  of  society  : 
— even  the  hemlock  and  the  nightshade  grow  less 
rankly  where  the  sun  shines.  Who  can  calculate  the 
eflect  of  emancipation  in  the  West  Indies,  on  the 
servile  population  of  the  Union  ?  ''The  sympathies 
between  the  colonial  inhabitants  of  the  two  regions," 
says  an  American  authority,  "must  become  more  and 
more  extensive.  No  legal  enactments,  no  armed  cordon 
around  Florida,  can  prevent  it.  News  of  the  progress 
of  human  freedom  will  fly  faster  than  civil  proclama- 
tions. Human  sympathies  cannot  be  blocked  up  by 
negociations,  nor  by  ships  of  war.  Rumours  of  this  sort 
will  fly  on  the  winds  of  heaven." 

This  too  is  the  prospective  view  to  be  taken  of  that 
munificent    gift,    by    which   the    nation    charmed   the 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  217 

dragon  slavery  from  its  victims.  True,  its  immediate 
purpose  may,  in  some  respects,  have  partially  failed  ; 
but  not  one  of  all  its  higher  ends.  Twenty  rnillions 
of  enactments  against  slavery,  would  not  have  made 
a  return  to  that  enormity  so  impossible  as  that  gift 
has  done.  Twice  twenty  million  hearts  beat  quicker 
in  the  cause  of  humanity  than  ever.  More  than  that 
number  of  benevolent  impulses  have  been  sent  thrill- 
ing through  all  the  departments  of  social  improvement. 
We  meant  it  for  our  country — it  has  touched  the  heart 
of  the  world.  We  meant  it  to  take  full  and  final 
effect  on  a  day  at  hand — it  will  operate  till  the  last 
day.  We  meant  it  for  a  given  number  of  slaves — 
in  an  important  sense,  it  has  bought  the  freedom  of 
mankind.  And  thus  nothing  good  is  lost.  The  feeblest 
act  for  God,  not  by  any  inherent  strength  of  its  own, 
but  by  being  linked  on  to  some  great  principle  of  the  Di- 
vine government,  is  carried  on  through  all  time,  and,  for 
aught  we  know,  through  all  worlds. 

And  who  does  not  foresee  that,  owing  materially 
to  Missionary  influence,  the  whole  system  of  British 
colonization,  as  far  as  it  affects  the  aborigines,  is  likely 
to  be  essentially  improved  ?  By  exposing  the  fact  that 
for  ages  we  have  been  imitating  the  Spanish  and  the 
Portuguese  in  the  worst  parts  of  their  policy,  and  in 
the  blackest  features  of  their  national  character  ;  that 
while  we  have  been  priding  ourselves  on  our  superior 
humanity  and  civilization,  we  have  been  laying  whole 
regions  desolate,  and  consigning  entire  tribes  to  de- 
struction ;  Christian  Missions  have  aroused  the  national 
indignation,  and  thus  taken  the  first  step  towards  reme- 
dying the  evil.  While  by  pointing  out  the  only  legiti- 
mate method  of  colonization  ;  by  perseverlngly  im- 
ploring, and,  through  the  public  voice,  demanding,  in 
the  name  of  outraged  justice  and  humanity,  that  this 
method  shall  be  adopted  ;  and  by  continuing  to  report 
every  fresh  violation  of  it,  they  are  powerfully  tending, 
under  God,  to  base  our  future  intercourse  with  the 
19 


218  RELIGIOUS  BENEFITS  OF, 

aborigines  on  righteousness  and  peace,  and  thus  to 
promote  on  a  most  extended  scale,  the  temporal  welfare 
of  myriads  of  mankind. 


SECTION  II. 

THE    RELiaiOUS   BENEFITS    AND   SPIRITUAL    RESULTS   OF     CHRISTIAN   MIS- 
SIONS,   AMONG   THE   HEATHEN. 

Great  as  are  the  social  and  moral  blessings  which 
Christian  Missions  have  been  the  means  of  imparting 
to  heathen  lands,  they  have  only,  in  a  sense,  been 
imparted  incidentally,  by  aiming  at  greater  things  than 
these.  The  great  design  of  Christ  in  coming  into  the 
world  was  to  erect  his  Cross,  and  the  supreme  object 
of  his  Missionary  is  instrumentally  to  dispense  its 
blessings — blessings  as  much  superior  to  those  which 
relate  only  to  the  present,  as  the  nature  and  duration 
of  the  undying  soul  surpass  the  body  which  enshrines 
it.  While  he  rejoices,  therefore,  in  being  made  the 
medium  of  imparting  temporal  benefits,  he  values  them 
chiefly  as  the  signs  and  the  means  of  yet  greater  good. 
He  remembers  that,  important  as  they  may  be  in  the 
class  of  blessings  to  which  they  belong,  they  are  only 
accidental  to  religion — tiie  dust  of  that  diamond  which 
constitutes  her  crowning  gift — the  shed  blossoms  of 
that  tree  of  life  of  which  his  office  is  to  dispense  the  im- 
mortal fruit. 

In  enumerating  the  benefits  glanced  at  in  the  last 
section,  then,  we  have  only  been  ascending  the  steps  of 
that  temple  which  it  is  the  design  of  the  Missionary 
enterprise  to  erect.  And  although  it  is  allowed  us  to 
sing  our  "  song  of  degrees  "  as  we  ascend  them,  our 
great  business  is  within.  Here  angels  join  us,  and 
mingle    ti:ieir  joy  with    the   grateful    tears    of  myriads 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  219 

of  reclaimed   penitents.     Here  the  Redeemer  himself 
sees  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  is  satisfied. 

1.  But  in  order  that  we  may  be  the  better  prepared 
to  estimate  this  spiritual  result,  let  us  begin  with  the 
first  religious  benefits  of  Christian  Missions,  in  effecting 
an  extensive  abolition  of  idolatry.  If  there  'existed  a 
region  on  the  face  of  the  earth  where,  in  defiance  of 
the  law  w^hich  commands,  "thou  shalt  have  no  other 
gods  before  me,"  the  Divine  Lawgiver  himself  were 
forgotten,  and  demons  placed  on  his  throne ;  where  the 
moral  darkness  had  for  ages  been  deepening  and  con- 
ceahng  abominations,  till  diabolical  ingenuity  itself  had 
exhausted  its  hideous  devices ;  and  where  a  cloud  stored 
with  the  bolts  of  Divine  displeasure  had  been  conse- 
quently collecting  and  impending,  ready  every  moment 
to  discharge  a  tempest  of  destruction,  would  he  not  be 
an  instrument  of  immense  good  who  should  hold  up  a 
light  in  the  midst  of  that  darkness,  by  w^hich  the  de- 
luded worshipper  should  see  that  they  had  been  sacri- 
ficing to  devils,  not  to  God,  and  before  which  those 
demons  should  fly  ?  Such  regions  there  are.  The 
entire  empire  of  polytheism  is  a  realm  of  diabolical 
dominion.  It  assembles  its  votaries  only  to  blaspheme 
the  name  of  God ;  erects  its  temple  only  to  attract 
the  lightning  of  the  impending  cloud  on  their  devoted 
heads ;  calls  them  around  its  altars  only  that  in  the 
very  act  of  supposed  atonement  they  may  complete 
their  guilt ;  and  gives  them  a  pretended  revelation  only 
"that  they  should  believe  a  lie."  x\nd  such  an  angel 
of  mercy  is  the  Christian  Missionary.  To  say  nothing, 
at  present,  of  the  dechne  of  idolatry  in  India,  and  of 
the  conversion  of  some  of  the  tribes  of  Africa  and 
North  America,  w'here  now,  w^e  ask,  is  the  idolatry 
which  lately  revelled  in  the  Sandwich,  the  Marquesan, 
the  Paumotu,  the  Tahitian  and  Society,  the  Austral, 
the  Hervey,  the  Navigators,  the  Friendly  Islands  and 
New  Zealand,  and  in  all  the  smaller  islands  in  their 
respective  vicinities  .''  Idolatry  still  reigns  in  Western 
Polynesia,  and  still  steeps  its  victims  in  blood  and  guilt ; 


220  RELIGIOUS  BENEFITS  OF 

what  benevolent  power  has  swept  the  curse  from  East- 
ern Polynesia  ?  The  Missionary  of  the  Cross  has  been 
there  proclaiming,  that  "there  is  one  God  and  one 
Mediator  between  God  and  man,  the  man  Christ  Jesus" 
— and  about  ninety  islands  have  "cast  their  idols  to 
the  moles  and  to  the  bats,"  and  about  400,000 
idolaters  have  become  the  professed  worshippers  of 
the  only  living  and  true  God.  We  admit,  indeed, 
that  the  mere  abandonment  of  idolatry  is  very  remote 
from  scriptural  conversion  to  God.  But  if  the  in- 
spired history  exhibits  the  Almighty  in  one  continued 
contest  with  idolatry,  is  it  nothing  to  find,  though 
it  be  only  about  the  fifteen  hundredth  part  of  his 
infatuated  foes  lay  down  their  arms,  and  virtually  ac- 
knowledge their  guilt  ?  If  the  mere  casting  out  of 
a  demon  was  a  benefit  to  the  dispossessed  which 
called  for  his  ardent  and  lasting  gratitude,  is  it  no- 
thing for  whole  demoniac  communities  to  have  the 
fiend  of  idolatry,  whose  name  is  Legion,  cast  out  of 
the  body  pohtic,  and  to  be  now  found  "clothed,  and 
in  their  right  mind  ?"  The  renunciation  of  a  false 
religion  is  at  least  one  step  towards  the  adoption  of 
the  true  one. 

2.  If  we  knew  of  a  region  where  the  sun  of  know- 
ledge— if  ever  it  shone  there— set  long  ages  ago ; 
where  the  absence  of  truth  has  not  merely  left  the 
mind  vacant,  but  in  actual  possession  of  destructive 
errors,  like  a  deserted  mansion  converted  into  a  den 
for  robbers  and  murderers ;  and  where  truth  is  not  only 
lost  to  man,  and  fatal  error  is  in  full  possession,  but 
where  man  is  actually  lost  to  the  truth — lost  to  the 
power  of  even  intellectually  apprehending  it  when  first 
presented  to  his  mind ;  and  if  there  existed  a  process 
by  which  that  darkness  could  be  pierced,  those  errors 
exploded,  and  this  power  restored,  would  not  he  be 
a  great  benefactor  who  should  attempt  and  conduct 
it  to  a  successful  issue  ?  That  region  is  heathenism  ; 
that  process  is  education ;  and  that  benefactor  the 
Christian  Missionary.     Visit,  in  thought,   the  200,000 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  221 

youthful  and  adult  scholars  sitting  at  his  feet  to 
receive  instruction,  and  imagine  what  all  those  im- 
mortal beings  would  have  been  if  left  to  themselves. 
A  considerable  number  would  doubdess  have  been 
destroyed  in  infancy,  had  he  not  gone  to  their  rescue  ; 
while,  for  the  rest,  the  past  would  have  been  all  a 
fable,  the  future  a  blank,  and  the  present  would  have 
been  spent  in  a  perpetual  conflict  whether  the  fiend 
or  the  brute  should  predominate  in  their  nature.  Does 
the  reader  deeply  commiserate  such  a  condition  ?  Let 
him  remember  that  the  depth  of  his  compassion  is 
a  measure,  however  inadequate,  for  estimating  the 
value  of  that  process  which  enables  them  to  emerge 
out  of  it.  Let  him  observe  further,  as  the  process 
advances,  how  the  faculties  recover  their  proper  plia- 
bility, how  the  understanding  rejoices  in  the  power 
of  apprehending  truth,  and  reason  gradually  resumes 
its  throne,  and  even  the  countenance  itself  is  humanized, 
"losing  the  wild  and  vacant  stare  of  the  savage"  in 
the  mild  and  intelligent  expression  of  the  reasonable 
being ;  and  let  him  remember  that  the  pleasure  which 
he  experiences  in  marking  the  transformation  is  another 
measure  by  which  to  estimate  the  value  of  Missionary 
effort. 

Let  him  not  suppose,  however,  that  he  has  all  the 
evidence  of  its  value  before  him  till  he  has  ascertained 
the  importance  attached  to  it  by  the  recipients  them- 
selves ;  till  he  has  marked  the  adult  barbarian  indignant 
at  his  own  slowness  of  comprehension ;  till  he  has 
seen  the  negro  parent  patiently  submitting  to  be  taught 
by  his  own  children  ;*  and  the  New  Zealander  estab- 
lishing schools  in  his  own  villages,  under  the  direction 
of  native  youths  if  till  he  has  beheld  the  fierce  warrior 
of  a  hundred  battles  presiding  at  the  examination 
of  the  children  of  his  people,  and  has  seen  amidst 
the  beaming  looks  of  the  parents  who  had  spared 
their   children,    and   the   tearful  countenances  of  those 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  105.  f  Idem,  p.  249. 

19* 


222  RELIGIOUS  BENEFITS  OF 

who  had  immolated  theirs,  some  venerable  chieftain 
rise,  and  with  impassioned  look  and  manner  exclaim, 
*'  Let  me  speak  ;  I  must  speak  !  Oh  that  I  had 
known  that  the  gospel  was  coming  !  Oh  that  I  had 
known  that  these  blessings  were  in  store  for  us  ;  then 
I  should  have  saved  my  children,  and  they  would 
have  been  among  this  happy  group,  repeating  these 
precious  truths ;  but,  alas  !  I  destroyed  them  all,  and 
now  I  have  not  one  left ;"  then  cursing  the  gods 
which  they  had  formerly  worshipped,  and  adding  with 
a  flood  of  tears,  '■'  It  was  you  that  infused  this  savage 
disposition  into  us,  and  now  I  shall  die  childless,  al- 
though I  have  been  the  father  of  nineteen  children. 
Oh  that  some  one  had  seized  my  murderous  hand, 
and  had  told  me.  The  gospel  of  salvation  is  coming 
to  our  shores  !"*  And  even  then  let  the  reader  re- 
member, that  in  estimating  the  value  of  Missionary 
instruction,  the  chief  element  is  wanting  unless  he 
could  foresee  the  number  who  will  go  forth  from 
enjoying  it,  "wise  unto  salvation." 

3.  If  there  existed  a  region  where  the  mind  of 
millions,  heaving  and  surging  like  the  labouring  ocean, 
was  ever  seeking  rest  and  finding  none,  would  not 
he  be  conferring  on  it  an  incomparable  good  who 
should  instrumentally  allay  its  perturbations,  and 
minister  to  its  enlightened  repose  ?  Such  a  region 
is  to  be  found  wherever  the  terrors  of  superstition 
prevail.  How  dense  must  be  that  moral  darkness 
which  is  only  comparable  to  the  shadow  of  death ! 
What  must  be  the  state  of  that  mind  which  could 
realize  its  conception  of  the  invisible  powers  only  in 
the  forms  of  idols  so  monstrously  distorted  and  horrible 
as  to  shock  the  imagination !  How  intense  must  be 
that  anguish  of  soul  which  can  impel  men  to  lacerate 
their  flesh,  and  inflict  agonies  of  self-torture  !  which 
can  burst  the  sacred  bonds  of  humanity,  and  offer  a 
brother-man  in  sacrifice !    or  which  can  even  suppress 

*  Missionary  Enterprises,  p.  564. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  223 

the  still  more  sacred  feelings  of  the  mother,  and  induce 
her  to  immolate  her  infant  child  !  Then  what  must 
be  the  amount  of  obligation  conferred  on  the  victims 
of  such  a  reign  of  terror  by  him  who  takes  into  the 
midst  of  them  an  infallible  remedy  for  the  whole ! 
And  yet  the  Christian  Missionary  does  this.  He 
goes  to  tell  the  dupes  of  imposture  of  essential  truth ; 
to  tell  the  infanticide  mother  that  she  may  save  her 
offspring,  and  may  press  them  to  her  heart ;  and  the 
devotee  of  the  Ganges,  of  the  washing  of  regeneration, 
and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  the  self- 
torturing  votary  of  cruelty,  that  the  name  of  God 
is  Love;  and  the  self-immolating  worshippers  of  Jug- 
gernaut, of  the  sacrifice  offered  once  for  all,  and  of 
the  blood  which  cleanseth  from  all  sin.  Whether 
the  heathen  avail  themselves  of  the  proffered  good 
or  not,  he  takes  into  the  midst  of  them  light  which 
can  dissipate  the  gross  darkness  of  ages,  unveils  a 
propitiation  which  expiates  the  guilt  of  a  world,  and 
the  offer  of  a  peace  which  reflects  the  cloudless  tran- 
quility of  heaven  itself. 

4.  Nor  does  his  usefulness  stop  even  here.  At 
this  point  it  assumes  its  loftiest  character,  and  only 
begins  to  produce  its  noblest  results.  An  agency 
there  is  which  can  not  only  take  these  blessings  into 
the  midst  of  a  heathen  tribe,  but  which  can  then 
dispose  that  tribe  to  receive  them  ;  and  by  that  agency 
the  Christian  Missionary  is  actually  accompanied.  A 
change  there  is  which  new-creates  the  soul ;  and  of 
that  change  he  is  the  honoured  instrument.  Pointing 
to  a  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  Christian  converts, 
he  can  say,  ^'  Ye  were  darkness,  but  now  are  ye  light 
in  the  Lord."  Name  the  most  depraved  and  degraded 
of  the  species,  and  pointing  to  those  converts  he  can 
say,  *'Such  were  some  of  you;  but  ye  are  washed, 
but  ye  are  sanctified,  but  ye  are  justified,  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  spirit  of  our 
God."  Do  we  speak  of  "the  vision  of  dry  bones" 
as  a  scene  typical  of  a  great  spiritual  triumph  }     Here 


224  RELIGIOUS  BENEFITS  OF 

is,  at  least,  "an  exceeding  great  army"  raised  from 
the  dead  by  the  same  renewing  power,  and  whose 
spiritual  change  is  worthy  of  being  classed  with  the 
most  stupendous  miracles  of  grace.  Do  we  point 
to  the  three  thousand  converts  of  the  pentecost,  and 
pray  for  a  similar  triumph  of  the  converting  Spirit  ? 
Here  are,  numerically,  at  least,  the  fruits  of  the 
Pentecostal  scene  fifty  times  repeated. 

5.  If  we  knew  of  a  volume,  parts  of  which  were 
prepared  for  converts  such  as  those  we  have  described ; 
and  the  whole  of  which,  written  by  the  finger  of  God, 
was  calculated  to  reflect  light,  and  love,  and  glory 
around  them ;  if  we  knew  of  a  day  on  which  they 
could  statedly  assemble  together  to  worship  God,  and 
associate  in  spirit  with  the  seraphim  around  the  throne, 
and  enjoy  a  foretaste  of  the  Sabbath  above  ;  and  if 
there  existed  a  society  instituted  by  Christ,  enjoying 
his  perpetual  presence,  and  designed  expressly  to  train 
them  up  for  the  perfect  society  of  the  blessed,  would 
not  he  who  should  be  the  means  of  putting  them 
in  possession  of  all  this  do  more  than  confer  on  them 
the  wealth  of  a  world  ?  Such  a  volume  there  is, 
and  with  incalculable  toil  the  Missionary  has  prepared 
and  placed  it  in  their  hands  ;  and  as  they  bend  over 
the  sacred  page,  or  press  it  to  their  hearts,  the  language 
which  beams  in  their  eye,  and  escapes  from  their 
lips  is,  "Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go  but  unto  thee  ? 
thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life  !"  Such  a  day 
there  is,  and  as  it  dawns  with  all  the  hallowed  tran- 
quility of  the  first  Sabbath,  ten  thousand  dwellings, 
once  the  habitations  of  cruelty,  resound  with  the 
morning  hymn  of  praise  ;  and  as  its  sacred  hours 
advance,  a  number  greater  than  "  the  number  of  them 
that  are  sealed,"  "  of  all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and 
people,  and  tongues,"  may  be  seen  assembled  "before 
the  throne  "  of  grace,  and  "  before  the  Lamb,"  wor- 
shipping God  "  in  the  beauty  of  holiness,"  and  "  crying, 
Salvation  unto  our  God,  who  sitteth  upon  the  throne, 
and  unto   the   Lamb."      And   such   a   divine   society 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  225 

there  is  ;  and  to  all  those  worshippers  the  Christian 
"Missionary  can  say,  "Ye  are  come  unto  Mount  Sion  ; 
....  to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first- 
born, which  are  written  in  heaven."  Upwards  of  a 
thousand  particular  churches,  belonging  to  the  great 
community  of  the  faithful,  are  at  this  moment  to  be 
found  in  heathen  lands.  In  each  of  these,  truths  are 
statedly  proclaimed,  and  ordinances  administered,  which 
the  wise  and  the  holy  of  former  times  panted  and 
prayed  in  vain  to  enjoy  ;  and  on  which  infinite  wisdom 
and  grace  have  expended  their  most  precious  resources. 
So  richly  worthy  of  God  are  they  in  their  constitution 
and  design,  that  did  even  the  least  of  them  all  exist 
alone  in  the  earth,  it  would  form  a  study  for  angels, 
from  which  they  might  "learn  the  manifold  wisdom 
of  God."  So  important  and  precious  are  they  in  the 
estimation  of  Christ,  that  while  he  is  represented  as 
only  extending  his  sceptre  and  despatching  his  messen- 
gers to  other  parts  of  his  dominions,  he  himself  "  walks 
in  the  midst  of  his  churches."  And,  consequently, 
so  ennobhng  are  they  in  their  practical  influence,  that 
every  act,  and  privilege,  and  law  by  which  they  are  dis- 
tinguished, tends  directly  to  prepare  their  members  for 
the  loftier  worship  of  the  beatified  church  above. 

6.  And  this  reminds  us,  that  the  bright  and  ultimate 
results  of  Christian  Missions  are  nowhere  to  be  found 
on  earth.  They  are  to  be  looked  for  in  heaven. 
Could  we  actually  traverse  every  part  of  the  wide 
field  of  Missionary  labour  of  which  we  have  spoken, 
and  could  we  compute  the  value  of  its  spiritual  fruits 
with  the  accuracy  of  the  angel  who  measured  the 
ancient  temple  with  a  golden  reed,  vast  as  the  total 
would  be,  it  would  only  furnish  us  with  the  first  figure 
of  the  mighty  reckoning  which  the  subject  requires. 
In  order  to  estimate  their  value  aright,  we  must  stand 
where  the  seer  of  the  Apocalypse  did,  and  command 
a  view  of  heaven.  For,  be  it  remembered,  that  since 
the  modern  Missionary  enterprise  commenced,  heaven 
has     been    constantly   receiving    accessions    from    its 


226  RELIGIOUS  BENEFITS  OF  CHRISHAN  MISSIONS. 

triumphant  labours.  And,  be  it  observed  further, 
that  could  the  number  of  these  be  counted,  and  be 
added  to  the  Missionary  converts  now  on  their  way 
to  the  hill  of  God,  still,  in  order  to  calculate  the 
mighty  sum  of  good,  we  should  require  to  know  the 
trains  of  usefulness  which  they  have  been  enabled 
to  lay  for  all  the  future.  But  what  do  we  attempt  ? 
Even  then  the  computation  would  be  only  commenced. 
Were  the  last  Christian  Missionary  sent  forth,  and 
the  last  Missionary  proclamation  of  mercy  delivered, 
the  spiritual  good  already  efTected  or  commenced  by 
such  instrumentality  is  in5nitely  beyond  the  reach 
of  numbers.  Empty,  weak,  worthless  as  it  is  in  itself, 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  has  been  pleased  to  employ 
it  as  a  means  by  which  guilt  w^iich  might  destroy  a 
world  has  been  cancelled ;  iron  chains  of  sin  have 
been  burst  asunder ;  misery,  second  only  to  that  of 
hell,  has  given  place  to  the  peace  of  God ;  hearts, 
stored  with  pollution,  made  habitations  of  God ;  where 
"  Satan's  seat"  was,  happy  communities  have  been 
formed ;  large  tracts  of  the  earth  have  been  blessed  by 
it ;  and  heaven  has  been  deriving  from  it  some  of  the 
richest  trophies  of  redeeming  grace.  It  is  important 
as  the  salvation  of  myriads ;  precious  as  the  blood 
of  Christ ;  immeasurable  as  the  joys  of  heaven ;  in- 
calculable as  the  revolutions  of  eternity.  The  mind 
which  at  first  put  it  into  motion  can  alone  compute 
the  value  of  its  results.  If  an  apostle  felt  constrained 
to  ''give  thanks  to  God  always"  for  the  converts  of  a 
single  church ;  if  the  fact  that  at  Thessalonica  a  small 
number  had  been  "turned  from  idols  to  serve  the  living 
and  true  God,"  called  forth  the  perpetual  thanksgiving 
of  one  who  had  laboured  in  the  Missionary  field  more 
than  all  his  contemporaries,  what  should  be  the  amount 
of  our  gratitude  on  beholding  our  surpassing  success, 
and  recollecting  how  little  we  have  done  individually 
to  achieve  it?  "Not  unto  us,  O  God,  not  unto  us, 
but  unto  thy  name  be  all  the  glory." 


CHAPTER   III. 


THE  REFLEX  BENEFITS  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS. 


SECTION  I. 


TEMPORAL    BENEFITS. 


One  of  the  most  benevolent  arrangements  of  the 
Divine  Government  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact,  that 
no  one  can  impart,  or  even  attempt  to  impart,  a  benefit, 
without  himself  being  benefited.  "He  that  watereth, 
shall  himself  also  be  watered."  This  is  not  to  be 
regarded  so  much  in  the  light  of  a  promise,  as  of  a 
law  of  the  Divine  administration, — a  law  by  which 
the  streams  of  beneficence  are  kept,  like  the  waters 
of  the  ocean,  in  perpetual  circulation,  so  that  they 
are  sure,  sooner  or  later,  to  revisit  their  source ;  and 
a  law,  therefore,  of  which  the  great  Author  is  himself 
the  sublime  illustration.  And  one  of  the  brightest 
exemphfications  of  this  law,  in  modern  times,  is  to  be 
found  in  the  reflex  influence  of  Christian  Missions. 
In  proof  of  this,  we  may  begin  by  calling  attention 
to  a  class  of  benefits  which  even  the  most  sanguine 
and  far-sighted  friends  of  the  Missionary  enterprise 
hardly  contemplated  at  first, — the  temporal  advantages 
which  it  returns  to  the  people  with  whom  it  originates. 


228  KEFLEX  BENEFITS  OF 

Had  one  of  its  more  calculating  and  sagacious  friends 
ventured  at  the  outset  to  prophesy  such  effects,  the 
intimation  would  have  been  likely  to  excite  greater 
contempt  if  possible,  from  the  world,  than  even  the 
expected,  spiritual  result ;  and  even  some  of  the  Church 
would  have  been  ready  to  say,  ''If  the  Lord  would 
make  windows  in  heaven  might  this  thing  be."  Yet 
such  is  the  imposing  magnitude  to  which  this  class 
of  its  results  has  now  attained,  that  men  who  care  for 
no  other  or  higher  benefit,  acknowledge  that  this  alone 
would  amply  repay  the  effort  by  which  it  is  gained 

1.  As  one  of  the  lowest,  but  very  important  advan- 
tages of  Christian  Missions,  we  might  name  the  services 
which  they  have  rendered  to  literature  and  science. 
Geographical  and  statistical  information,  to  a  very  large 
amount,  has  been  furnished  by  the  JNIissionaries  respect- 
ing Western  Africa.*  The  Christian  researches  of 
Buchanan  in  India  ;  and  of  Jowett  in  the  Mediterranean, 
Syria,  and  the  Holy  Land;  the  journals  of  Heber  ; 
the  biographies  of  Martyn,  Hall,  Turner,  Thomason, 
Brown,  and  others;  the  periodical  accounts  of  the 
Serampore  brethren ;  and  the  voluminous  Reports  of 
several  of  the  Missionary  institutions,  are  of  great  value 
to  the  historian  and  the  naturalist.  The  Travels  of 
Tyerman  and  Bennett ;  of  GutzlafF  in  China ;  and 
of  Smith  and  Dwight  through  Georgia,  x\rmenia, 
&c.  ;  thePolynesian  Researches  of  Ellis  ;  and  Heartley's 
Researches  in  Greece  and  the  Levant ;  Gobat's  Abys- 
sinian Journal  ;  William's  Missionary  Enterprises  in 
the  South  Sea  Islands  ;  IMedhurst's  China  ;  and  the 
invaluable  volume  of  "  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines  ;" 
are  books,  whose  attractions  of  subject  and  style 
have  secured  them  an  admission  into  the  library  of 
the  Philosopher,  as  well  as  of  the  Christian.  Geo- 
graphy, geology,  natural  history,  philology,  and  ethno- 
graphy^the  science  which  classifies  nations  according 

*  See  the  Life  of  S.  J.  Mills ;  the  eleven  volumes  of  the  African 
Repository ;  the  London  Missionary  Register  5  and  Reports  of  the 
African  Institution. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  229 

to  their  languages* — have  been  greatly  enriched  by 
them.  "Numerous  materials,"  says  Balbi,f  "  for  the 
comparison  of  languages,  have  been  collected  at  various 
times  during  the  last  three  hundred  years.  In  this 
field,  along  with  many  other  very  useful  labourers,  the 
ministers  of  Christianity  have  occupied  the  first  rank. 
To  the  zeal  of  the  Moravian,  Baptist,  and  other  Pro- 
testant Missionaries,  as  well  as  to  the  members  of  Bible 
Societies^  of  all  Christian  sects,  ethnography  owes  its 
acquaintance  with  so  many  nations  hitherto  unknown 
in  India,  and  other  regions  of  Asia,  in  various  parts  of 
America  and  Oceanica,  along  with  the  translation,  in 
whole  or  in  part,  of  the  Bible  in  more  than  a  hundred 
different  languages." 

In  philology  especially,  the  contributions  of  the  Mis- 
sionaries have  been  distinguished.  By  correcting  pre- 
vailing errors  respecting  linguistic  affinities  ;§  by  bring- 
ing to  light  some  of  the  choicest  literary  treasures  of 
antiquity  ;j|  by  their  valuable  translations  from  the  lan- 
guages of  the  East  ;T[  by  reducing  many  of  the  un- 
written languages  of  the  earth  to  order  and  intelligible 
classification  ;**  and  by  the  patient  and  laborious  pre- 
paration of  English  and  Foreign  dictionaries  and  gram- 

*■  Or,  more  strictly,  the  science  which  has  for  its  object  to  classify 
nations. 

f  Preliminary  Discourse  prefixed  to  the  Atlas  Ethnographique, 
Paris,  1826. 

I  The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  has  printed  the  Bible  in 
nearly  two  hundred  languages  and  dialects. 

^  Rev.  Mr.  Lieder,  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  seems  to 
have  determined  that  the  Berber  language  of  North  Africa  has  no 
resemblance  to  that  spoken  by  the  Berber!  of  Nubia,  as  supposed  by 
Balbi  and  others.  His  investigations  throw  great  light  on  the  lan- 
guages spoken  in  Nubia. 

II  The  German  Missionary  Society  entertains  the  hope  that  its  Mis- 
sionaries at  Shoosha  will  soon  succeed  in  publishing  that  most  pre- 
cious relic  of  the  Armenian  Church,  their  earliest  translation  of  the 
Bible,  dating  from  the  fourth  cen'.ury.  [A  hope  since  disappointed  by 
the  expulsion  of  the  Missionaries^ 

^  Mr.  Thomson  is  understood  to  have  engaged  to  translate  for  the 
Oriental  Translation  Society,  some  original  works  from  the  language 
of  the  Bugis,  or  principal  nation  of  Celebes. 

♦*  See  the  Chapter  preceding. 

20 


230  REFLEX  BENEFITS  OF 

mars,*  they  have  laid  the  philologist  under  permanent 
obligation.  Accordingly,  not  only  has  commerce  been 
indebted  to  them,  and  an  embassy  employed  them,f 
but  learned  SocietiesJ  call  in  their  aid,  and  accord  their 
grateful  thanks  ;§  while  the  leading  critics  and  jour- 
nalists record  their  praises, ||  and  the  graver  Ency- 
clopaedistlF  registers  the  activity  of  their  labours  for  the 
information  of  posterity.** 

2.  Christian  Missions  have  corrected  and  enlarged 
our  views  of  the  character  and  condition  of  man.  In 
vain  would  it  now  be  for  a  Rousseau  to  repeat  his 
foohsh  fancies  concerning  the  perfections  of  the  savage 
man,  and  the  happiness  of  the  savage  life ;  and  quite 
unnecessary  that  a  Forster  should  gravely  adduce  evi- 
dence to  the  contrary, It  a  Ferguson  honour  them  with 
a  philosophical  investigation, JJ  or  a  Burke  expose  them 
to  ridicule. §§  The  universal  degradation  and  misery  of 
unreclaimed  man,  even  of  that  boast  of  false  philosophy, 
the  North  American  Indian — has,  chiefly,  l3y  the  cir- 

*  Here  Blorrison — the  Johnson  of  Christian  Lexicographers — 
stands  conspicuous.  Klaproth,  in  a  detailed  critique  on  his  Chinese 
and  Enghsh  Dictionary,  in  the  Allgemeine  Litteratur  Zeitung,  places 
it  beside  "the  great  lexicon  of  the  immortal  Meninski."  Montucci 
goes  much  beyond  this  praise.  M.  Abel  Remusat,  Davis,  and  Hutt- 
mann,  pronounce  on  it  the  highest  eulogy. 

t  Dr.  Morrison  in  the  suite  of  Lord  Amherst,  and  Chinese  Inter- 
preter to  the  British  Commission  at  Canton  ;  in  which  office  he  was 
succeeded  by  Gutzlaff. 

:j:  The  Oriental  Translation  Society  ;  see  above. 

^  At  a  meeting  of  the  Oriental  Translation  Society  in  London,  June 
23rd,  1832,  a  vote  of  thanks  to  this  effect  to  the  American  IMission  in 
Ceylon,  proposed  by  Sir  A.  Johnston,  and  seconded  by  Sir  W.  Ouse- 
ley,  was  unanimously  carried. 

II  "  These  authors,"  says  the  Foreign  Quarterly  Review,  No.  28, 
referring  to  Marsden,  Raffles,  and  Crawford,  "  have  been  followed, 
and,  at  least,  in  practical  acquaintance  with  the  languages  of  the 
Eastern  Islands,  surpassed,  by  several  of  the  English  Missionaries. 

^  SeeBalbi. 

♦*  In  the  American  Biblical  Repository  for  Jan.  1836,  there  is  an 
article  on  the  subject  of  the  above  paragraph  replete  with  informa- 
tion, to  which  the  author  gratefully  acknowledges  his  obligations. 

ft  Observations,  «fcc.,  by  J.  R.  Forster,  LL.  D.,  1778. 

XX  View  of  Society. 

^^  Vindication  of  Natural  Society. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  231 

culation  of  Missionary  information,  become  a  fact  as 
fully  accredited  as  that  of  his  existence.  In  vain  would 
it  now  be  for  a  certain  class  of  Europeans  to  paint  in 
glowing  colours  as  they  once  did,  the  virtue  of  Asiatic 
pagans,  and  to  eulogize  their  mythology  as  the  most 
perfect  system  of  morality  which  ever  demanded  the 
homage  of  the  heart.  That  spell  of  falsehood  Buchanan 
broke,  by  the  exhibition  of  Juggernaut  and  his  horrors. 
And  if  there  was  not  in  so  old  and  well-examined  a 
•thing  as  human  nature  any  new  principle  of  evil  to  be 
brought  to  light,  Missionary  disclosures  have  at  least 
shown  some  of  its  known  evil  principles  operating  in 
the  mild  Hindoo,  "  with  such  an  absoluteness  of  pos- 
sessive power,  and  displaying  this  disposition  in  such 
wantonly  versatile,  extravagant,  and  monstrous  effects, 
as  to  surpass  all  our  previous  imaginations  and  measures 
of  possibility.*  And,  on  the  other  hand — for  the 
same  persons  who  profess  to  regard  the  perfection  of 
one  class  of  pagans  as  all  but  inimitable,  can,  with 
singular  versatility,  pronounce  another  class  irreclaimable 
— in  vain  would  they  now  refuse  the  claims  and  rights 
of  humanity  to  any  portion  of  the  species.  "  Ten  years 
ago,"  says  the  Reportf  for  1820,  of  an  American  Mis- 
sionary Society,  ''the  Aborigines  of  our  country  were 
regarded  by  this  great  community,  with  the  exception 
of  here  and  there  an  individual,  as  an  utterly  intractable 
race,  never  to  be  brought  within  the  pale  of  civilized 
society,  but  doomed  by  unalterable  destiny  to  melt  away 
and  become  extinct;  and  a  spirit  of  vengeance  and  of 
extermination  was  breathed  out  against  them  in  many 
parts  of  our  land.  Now,  the  whole  nation  is  moved  by 
a  very  different  spirit."  The  Missionary  experiment 
has  determined  that  there  is  no  form  of  humanity, 
however  lost  to  civilization,  which  cannot  be  restored 
to   it;    or   however   sunk  in  the  brute,  which  cannot 

*  Foster's  incomparable  Missionary  Discourse,  or  profound  Trea- 
tise, bound  up  with  his  Essay  on  Popular  Ignorance,  p.  422. 

t  The  eleventh  annual  Report  of  the  American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners of  Foreign  Missions. 


232  REFLEX  BENEFITS  OF 

be  raised,  recovered,  and  taught  to  hold  communion 
with  the  skies. 

And  almost  equally  in  vain  will  it  soon  be  for  the 
disciples  of  the  French  naturalists  to  continue  to  deny 
the  origin  of  the  race  in  a  single  pair.  "  God  has  made 
of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  to  dwell  on  the  face  of 
the  earth."  In  this  doctrine  of  a  common  nature,  and 
the  consequent  closeness  of  relationship  among  all  the 
branches  of  the  human  family,  is  laid  the  foundation 
of  all  the  social  affections  and  duties.  Whatever  tends 
to  confirm  this  doctrine  therefore,  must  be  pronounced 
of  vital  importance.  Now  the  philological  labours  of 
the  Christian  Missionary  are  serving  lo  simplify  that 
process  which  goes  to  show  that  all  the  known  languages 
of  the  earth  are  but  dialects  of  one  now  most  probably 
lost.*  Besides  which,  the  identity  of  effect  which  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  universally  produces,  contri- 
butes a  new  and  satisfactory  species  of  evidence  of  the 
identity  of  the  origin  of  all  mankind.  When  we  see 
how  Christ  was  "  followed  by  the  Greek,  though  a 
founderof  noneof  his  sects;  is  revered  by  the  Brahmin, 
though  preached  to  him  by  men  of  the  fisherman's  caste  ; 
worshipped  by  the  red  man  of  Canada  though  belong- 
ing to  the  hated  pale  race  ;  we  cannot  but  consider  him 
as  destined  to  break  down  all  distinction  of  colour,  and 
shape,  and  countenance,  and  habits  :  and  to  form  in 
himself,  the  type  of  unity  to  which  are  referable  all  the 
sons  of  Adam,  and  to  give  us,  in  the  possibility  of  this 
moral  convergence,  the  strongest  proof  that  the  human 
species,  however  varied,  is  essentially  one."f 

3.  But  not  only  has  the  Christian  Missionary  contri- 
buted to  correct  and  enlarge  our  views  of  the  distant 
branches  of  the  human  family,  in  numerous  instances 
he  has  been  the  means  of  correcting  and  elevating  their 
views   of    our    character.       Numerous   and   substantial 

*  The  French  Academy,  after  long  research  and  deliberation, 
have  given  to  this  view  their  decided  approbation :  so  also  Schlegel 
and  other  distinguished  scholars. 

f  Wiseman's  Lectures,  vol.  i,  p.  257. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  233 

services  have  accrued  to  the  European  from  this  source, 
especially  in  the  islands  of  the  Pacific.  The  single 
illustration  we  shall  cite,  however,  has  its  scene  in  semi- 
civilized  India.  "  Do  not  send  to  me  any  of  your 
agents,"  said  Hyder  Ali,  in  his  messages  to  the  council 
at  Madras,  "for  I  do  not  trust  their  words  or  treaties  ; 
but,  if  you  wish  me  to  listen  to  your  proposals,  send 
to  me  the  Missionary  Swartz,  of  whose  character  I  hear 
so  much  from  every. one — him  I  will  receive  and  trust." 
And  in  his  letters  to  the  Marquis  Cornwallis,  General 
Fullarton  writes,  "  On  our  second  march,  we  were 
visited  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Swartz,  whom  your  lordship 
and  the  Board  requested  to  proceed  to  Seringapatam,  as 
a  faithful  mediator  between  Tippoo  and  the  Commis- 
sioners. The  knowledge  and  integrity  of  this  irre- 
proachable Missionary  have  retrieved  the  character  of 
Europeans  for  imputations  of  general  depravity. ''^^^ 

4.  To  a  very  considerable  extent.  Christian  Missions 
have  been  instrumental  also  in  the  preservation  of 
European  life.  On  the  capitulation  of  Cuddalore  in 
1782,  the  influence  and  efibrts  of  Gericke  were  the 
means  of  saving  numbers  from  the  fangs  of  Hyder,  and 
from  all  the  accumulated  miseries  which  he  heaped  on 
his  victims. t 

"When  bishop  Johannes  de  Watteville  was  on  a 
visitation  of  the  negro  congregations  in  the  Danish 
West  India  Islands,  the  governor  pointed  to  the  Church 
of  the  Missionaries  and  remarked,  that  it  was  the  prin- 
cipal fortress,  and  considered  by  him  as  the  great  safe- 
guard of  the  island.  He  added,  that  before  it  was 
built,  he  had  not  ventured  to  sleep  a  night  out  of  the 
fortress  on  his  plantation  ;  but  now  he  had  no  fear ;  for 
even  if  there  was  a  conspiracy  among  the  slaves, 
the  Christian  slaves  were  sure  to  hear  of,  and  to  dis- 
cover it. J 

But  on  this  important  though  incidental  service  ren- 

*  See  Gutzlaff  on  this  subject,  Voyages,  p.  58. 
t  Smith  and  Choules'  History  of  Missions,  vol.  i.  p.  31. 
i  Ryan's  Effects  of  Religion  on  Mankind,  p.  229. 
20* 


234  REFLEX  BENEFITS  OF 

dered  by  Christian  Missions,  the  ''Evidence  on  the 
Aborigines"  abounds  with  illustrations.  When,  in 
consequence  of  unprovoked  injuries  inflicted  by  whalers 
and  others,  the  natives  have  determined  to  seize  in  blind 
retaliation  on  the  next  European  vessel  that  touches 
their  shores,  the  Missionary  has  often  succeeded  in 
dissuading  them  from  the  execution  of  their  fatal  pur- 
pose.* Disputes,  which  could  have  ended  only  in  per- 
sonal conflicts  between  European  crews  and  native 
tribes,  have  been  terminated  amicably  by  Missionary 
mediation. f  And  even  when  a  conflict  of  mutual  de- 
struction has  actually  occurred,  the  Missionary  station 
— as  in  the  late  insurrection  of  the  CafFres — has  been 
a  city  of  refuge  to  the  fugitive  European,  Not  only 
were  their  own  lives  saved,  but  owing  to  the  influence 
which  they  possessed,  they  were  the  means  of  preserving 
several  of  the  traders.  J 

5.  This  reminds  us  that  commerce  itself  is  under  no 
small  obligations  to  Missionary  influence.  In  vain 
were  all  the  attempts  of  the  colonial  government  to 
establish  a  commercial  intercourse  with  the  Caffre 
tribes,  until  the  Christian  Missionary  had  gained  a 
footing  amongst  them.§  But  not  only  does  he  now 
form  a  connecting  link  in  the  chain  of  civilization 
between  the  colonies  and  the  CafFres  and  other  tribes  ;|| 
by  the  introduction  of  the  plough,  he  is  likely  to  be 
the  means  of  turning  the  attention  of  the  Aborigines 
from  pastoral  to  agricultural  pursuits  ;  in  consequence 
of  which  their  cattle  will  no  longer  prove  a  source  of 
irritation  and  conflict  with  the  frontier  colonists,1[  and 
a  much  narrower  compass  of  land  will  be  suflicient  for 
their  comfortable  support.** 

New  Zealand  is  unquestionably  the  key  to  India, 
on  the  one  hand,  as  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  is  on  the 
other.  And  if,  as  events  increasingly  indicate,  a  wise 
policy  should  require  our  Government  to  enter  into  a 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  pp.  47,  48,  285. 

t  Idem,  p.  207.  t  Idem,  p.  344.  ^  Idem,  p.  339. 

11  Idem,  p.  346.  %  Idem,  p.  155.  **  Idem,  p.  93. 


CHRISTIAN  mSSIONS.  235 

friendly  treaty  with  that  country,  the  measure  would  be 
greatly  facilitated,  if  not  entirely  owing,  to  the  favour- 
able predisposition  created  in  our  behalf  by  Missionary 
influence.* 

Up  to  a  very  recent  period  the  South  Sea  Islands 
were,  in  a  commercial  point  of  \iew,  a  complete  blank; 
but  now  they  are  made  to  contribute  to  our  wants, 
and  to  take  off  our  manufactures,  to  a  considerable 
extent. f  Sugar  is  cuhivated,  and  taken  in  native 
built  vessels  to  the  colony  of  New  South  Wales  ;j 
and  more  arrow  root  has  been  brought  from  thence 
to  England  in  one  year,  than  had  been  imported  for 
nearly  twenty  previous  years. §  Between  two  and  three 
hundred  thousand  of  the  natives  are  now  wearing 
European  clothing,  and  using  European  implements 
and  articles,  who  a  few  years  ago  knew  nothing  of  our 
manufactures.  II 

6.  The  shipping  of  our  country.^  too,  derive  as  much 
advantage  from  Christian  Missions  as  its  commerce. 
This  will  appear,  if  it  be  recollected  that  intercourse 
between  Europeans  and  the  untaught  islanders  of  the 
Pacific  is  always  dangerous,  and  has  often  proved  fatal. 
The  adventurous  Magellan  fell  at  the  Ladrone  Islands ; 
Captain  Cook  was  barbarously  murdered  at  the  Sand- 
wich group;  the  ship  Venus  was  taken  at  Tahiti; 
M.  de  Langle  and  his  companions  were  killed  at  the 
Samoas ;  the  Port  au  Prince  was  seized  at  Lefuga ; 
and  the  crew  of  the  Boyd  were  massacred  at  New 
Zealand.  And  now,  at  all  these  islands,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Ladrones,  there  are  Missionary  sta- 
tions, where  between  two  and  three  hundred  vessels 
annually  resort ;  the  crews  of  which  look  forward  with 
delight  to  the  hour  when  the  anchor  shall  be  dropped 
in  the  tranquil  lagoon,  and  they  shall  find  a  generous 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  85. 

t  Idem,  p.  314  J  and  Hewitt's  Colonization  and  Christianity,  pp. 
440,  441. 
X  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  179.  ^  Idem,  p.  180. 

Ij  Idem,  p.  311. 


236  REFLEX  BENEFITS  OF 

welcome  and  a  temporary  home.  Here,  at  the  smallest 
possible  expense,  the  captains  can  obtain  a  supply  of 
fresh  meat  and  provisions,  refit  their  vessels,  and  re- 
cruit their  crews.* 

Formerly  also  when  a  wreck  occurred,  the  natives 
hastened  to  plunder  and  murder;  or  reserved  those 
who  escaped  from  the  sea,  for  sacrifices.  Witness  the 
unhappy  sufierers  of  the  Charles  Eaton,  and  the  still 
more  recent  massacre  of  Captain  Fraser  and  his  crew 
on  the  coast  of  New  Holland.  But  now,  wherever 
Christianity  has  been  introduced,  the  occurrence  of  a 
wreck  is  the  signal  for  the  exercise  of  the  kindest 
feelings  towards  the  sufi:erers  themselves,  and  of  the 
greatest  zeal  for  the  protection  of  their  property.  The 
Falcon,  the  Sir  Charles  Price,  and  several  other  vessels, 
have  been  cast  away  at  or  near  such  stations  ;  and  not 
only  have  the  captains  and  others  attested  that  "not  a 
nail  was  lost,"  and  that  all  the  attention  was  given  to 
their  personal  comfort  which  kindness  could  bestow, 
but  thousands  of  pounds  have  been  transmitted  to 
England  and  America  as  the  proceeds  arising  from  the 
sale  of  property  saved  on  such  occasions  by  native 
activity  and  zeal.f  Thus^juany  a  Christian  Missionary 
is,  in  effect,  a  British  Consul  of  the  most  unexpensive 
and  efficient  kind  ;  and  his  congregation  a  society  for 
the  protection  of  British  lives  and  property.  While 
the  Slissionary  enterprise  itself,  by  finding  new  havens 
at  the  antipodes  for  our  fleets,  opening  new  channels 
for  our  commerce,  and  every  where  multiplying  the 
friends  of  our  country,  is  eminently  conducive  to  the 
prosperity  of  its  temporal  interests.    ; 

Such,  we  repeat,  is  the  imposing  magnitude  to  which 
this  class  of  its  results  has  now  attained,  that  men  who 
care  not  for  any  other  or  higher  benefit,  acknowledge 
that  this  alone  would  amply  repay  the  efibrts  by  which 
it  has  been  gained.     But  though  the  benefits  we  have 

*  Williams's  Missionary  Enterprises,  pp.  584,  585. 
f  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  183  ;  and  Williams's  speech  be- 
fore the  Common  Council. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  237 

now  specified  possess  all  the  importance  attached  to 
them ;  and  though  they  are  among  the  first  to  catch 
the  eye  in  a  survey  Hke  the  present,  we  conceive  that 
there  are  others  of  the  same  class  of  greater  moment 
still.  In  closing  our  estimate  of  the  temporal  good 
accruing  to  the  heathens  from  Christian  Missions,  we 
remarked  on  the  surpassing  value  of  the  services  which 
they  have  rendered  to  negro  emancipation,  and  to 
general  colonization.  And  in  concluding  this  brief 
account  of  their  reflex  temporal  effects  on  ourselves, 
we  cannot  but  avow  our  belief  that  their  chief  national 
value  will  hereafter  be  found  to  have  consisted  in  the 
influence  which  they  have  shed  on  the  same  great 
objects.  The  full  and  distinct  proof  of  this  would 
doubtless  require  a  large  induction  of  historical 
facts.  We  will  only  ask,  however, — where  now  are 
the  possessions  of  that  kingdom,  whose  armies  and 
governors,  with  savage  cruelty,  exterminated  the  Caribs, 
the  Mexicans,  and  the  children  of  the  sun  ?  In  whose 
hands  are  the  Floridas,  Mexico,  Darien,  Terra  Firma, 
Buenos  Ayres,  Paraguay,  Chili,  Peru,  and  California  ? 
But  if  there  be  any  truth  in  the  doctrine  of  Divine 
retribution,  or  any  thing  fearful  in  the  Divine  displea- 
sure, then  every  one  admitting  the  guilt  of  slavery 
and  the  criminal  spirit  of  our  colonial  conduct,  will 
instantly  grant  that  the  Missionary  enterprise,  by 
powerfully  tending  to  abohsh  the  former,  and  to  ameh- 
orate  the  latter,  has  instrumentally  averted  a  great 
national  curse,  and  has  proved  a  proportionate  national 
blessing.  The  magnitude  of  the  blessing  indeed  is 
unknown  ;  for  its  moral  influence  will  continue  to 
extend  through  every  coming  generation  of  mankind, 
and  its  value  to  increase  with  every   moment  of  time. 


238  REFLEX  SPIRITUAL  BENEFITS 

SECTION  II. 

THE   KEFLEX   SPIRITUAL   BENEFITS   OF    CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS. 

Before  the  distant  regions  of  the  earth  are  likely  to 
be  turned  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  says  Douglas 
in  his  Advancement  of  Society,  England  herself  will 
be  evangelized  in  the  act  of  evangelizing  other  nations. 
Whatever  may  be  thought  of  this  remark,  we  would 
venture  to  ask,  if  the  sole  object  of  Christian  activity 
within  the  last  fifty  years  had  been  the  advancement  of 
religion  in  our  own  land,  in  what  other  way  could  it 
have  been  better  promoted  than  it  has  been  by  sending 
the  Gospel  abroad  .'*  In  other  words,  had  the  same 
amount  of  money  and  effort  which  the  Missionary  object 
has  absorbed,  been  devoted  to  the  diffusion  of  the 
Gospel  at  home,  is  there  any  reason  to  believe  that 
our  country  would  have  reaped  greater  spirhual  benefit 
than  it  is  now  enjoying  by  the  reflex  influence  of  Chris- 
tian Missions  ?  The  particulars  following  will  furnish 
materials  for  a  correct  reply. 

1.  It  is  not  for  us  to  say  at  what  moment,  or 
in  what  niind,  the  heavenly  purpose  arose  which  God 
ha,s  graciously  made  the  occasion  of  modern  Mission- 
ary instrumentality.  Even  were  the  circumstances  sub- 
mitted to  our  investigation,  they  would  probably 
present  a  web  of  mutual  influence  far  too  compli- 
cated for  us  to  unravel.  To  the  eye  of  God,  how- 
ever, such  a  mind,  and  such  a  moment,  are  doubt- 
less present.  The  conception  of  the  purpose  was  an 
era  in  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church,  comparable 
only  with  the  Reformation  itself  And  not  less  event- 
ful to  the  moral  condition  of  the  world  at  large  was 
the  moment  which  saw  its  birth,  than  the  hour  in 
which  Columbus  determined  to  give  a  new  world  to 
the  old,  to  their  temporal  concerns.  And  here,  be  it 
remarked,  that  he  who  hath  made  it  '' more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive,"  began  to  bless  the  giver  even 


OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  239 

before  he  could  begin  to  impart ; — in  the  very  act  of 
intending  and  arranging  to  give.  The  mere  announce- 
ment of  the  project  was  a  blessing.  If  only  by  help- 
ing to  break  up  the  monotony  which  extensively  pre- 
vailed in  the  religious  services  and  topics  of  the  day^ 
it  rendered  a  service  to  the  Church,  which  those  who 
are  accustomed  to  the  variety  of  the  present  time  can 
scarcely  estimate. 

2.  The  striking  manner  in  which  the  Missionary 
enterprise  enlivened  the  piety ^  and  increased  the  happi- 
ness^ of  those  who  first  espoused  it,  may  be  illustrated 
best  by  the  following  quotations.  "  There  was  a  period 
of  my  ministry,"  said  the  devoted  Andrew  Fuller  to  a 
friend,  "  marked  by  the  most  pointed  systematic  effort 
to  comfort  my  serious  people ;  but  the  more  I  tried 
to  comfort  them,  the  more  they  complained  of  doubts 
and  darkness  ....  I  knew  not  what  to  do,  nor  what 
to  think,  for  I  had  done  my  best  to  comfort  the  mourn- 
ers in  Zion.  At  this  time  it  pleased  God  to  direct 
my  attention  to  the  claims  of  the  perishing  heathen  in 
India  ;  I  felt  that  we  had  been  living  for  ourselves, 
and  not  caring  for  their  souls.  I  spoke  as  I  felt.  My 
serious  people  wondered  and  wept  over  their  past 
inattention  to  the  subject.  They  began  to  talk  about 
a  Baptist  Mission.  The  females  especially  began  to 
collect  money  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel.  We  met 
and  prayed  for  the  heathen  ;  met  and  considered  what 
could  be  done  amongst  ourselves  for  them ;  met  and 
did  what  we  could.  And,  whilst  all  this  was  going  on, 
the  lamentations  ceased.  The  sad  became  cheerful, 
and  the  desponding  calm.  No  one  complained  of  a 
want  of  comfort.  And  I,  instead  of  having  to  study 
how  to  comfort  my  flock,  was  myself  comforted  by 
them.  They  were  drawn  out  of  themselves.  Sir,  that 
was  the  real  secret.  God  blessed  them  while  they 
tried  to  be  a  blessing." 

"  After  the  departure  of  our  brethren" — the  first 
Baptist  Missionaries  to   India — says  the  brief  narrative 


240  HEFLEX  SPIRITUAL  BENEFITS 

-  K 

of  the  Baptist  Mission,*  "  we  had  time  for  reflection. 
In  reviewing  the  events  of  a  few  preceding  months, 
we  were  much  impressed.  The  thought  of  having  done 
something  towards  enlarging  the  boundaries  of  our 
Saviour's  kingdom,  and  of  rescuing  poor  heathens  and 
Maiiommedans  from  under  Satan's  yoke,  rejoiced  our 
hearts.  We  were  glad  also  to  see  the  people  of  God 
offering  so  willingly  ;  some  leaving  their  country,  others 
pouring  in  their  property,  and  all  uniting  in  prayers 
to  Heaven  for  a  blessing.  Al  new  bond  of  union  was 
formed  between  distant  ministers  and  churches.  Some 
who  had  backslidden  from  God  were  restored ;  and 
others  who  had  long  been  poring  over  their  unfruit- 
fulness,  and  questioning  the  reality  of  their  personal 
religion,  having  their  attention  directed  to  Christ  and 
his  kingdom,  lost  their  fears  and  found  that  peace 
which  in  other  pursuits  they  had  sought  in  vain.  In 
short,  our  hearts  were  enlarged ;  and,  if  no  other  good 
had  arisen  from  the  undertaking  than  the  effect  produced 
upon  our  own  minds,  and  the  minds  of  Christians  in  our 
own  country,  it  was  more  than  equal  to  the  expense."! 

3.  The  benefit  of  Christian  activity  became  general ; 
for  the  Missionary  spirit,  seizing  in  steady  succession 
the  various  sections  of  the  Christian  community^  quick- 
ened them  all  into  emulation.  The  movement  of  one 
department  was  a  signal  for  the  movement  of  every 
other.  And  long  before  the  last  tribe  of  our  British 
Israel  had  unfurled  its  banners  and  followed  the  van, 
the  Churches  of  America,  excited  by  our  example, 
gave  ''note  of  preparation,"  and  took  the  field.  In 
equally  quick  succession,  their  tribes  came  "forth  to 
the  help  of  the  Lord,"  and  were  soon  seen  "provoking 
one  another  to  love  and  to  good  works."  Nor  indeed 
has  the  hallowed  provocation  on  either  side  of  the 
Atlantic  been  confined,  subsequently,   to  its  own  hemi- 


*  Second  Report  of  the  Southern  Board  [American]  of  Foreign 
Missions. 

t  Smith  and  Choules'  History  of  Missions,  vol.  i.  p.  189. 


OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  241 

sphere.  The  identity  of  our  object  has  given  us  a 
reciprocity  of  influence  which  places  each  separate 
portion  of  our  respective  communities  under  the  im- 
pulse of  the  whole  ;  so  that  a  movement  made  by  one 
is  almost  instantly  felt  by  all.  What  an  illustration 
has  the  working  of  our  Missionary  institutions  thus 
created,  of  the  incalculable  value  and  power  of  Chris- 
tian influence. 

4.  Nor  was  the  institution  of  one  Missionary  Society 
a  signal  for  the  establishment  of  other  societies  of  the 
same  kind  merely.  The  Spirit  of  God  had  moved  upon 
the  face  of  the  ecclesiastical  waters,  and  each  succeed- 
ing period  was  distinguished  by  creations  of  its  own. 
Like  a  true  scion  from  the  life-giving  tree  of  prophetic 
vision,  which  "bare  twelve  manner  of  fruits,"  the  Mis- 
sionary enterprise  soon  found  itself  the  stock  of  various 
kindred  institutions.  While,  judging  from  the  subse- 
quentj  renovation  of  some  other  societies  of  a  prior 
existence,  it  has  had  the  effect  of  fertilizing  and  im- 
proving institutions  which  it  has  not  originated.  So 
that,  pointing  at  many  of  our  associations  and  efforts 
for  the  distribution  of  Bibles  and  tracts  ;  for  the  esta- 
blishment of  Sunday-schools,  and  the  advancement  of 
village  evangelization,  we  may  ask,  which  of  these  did 
not  receive  either  its  existence,  or  its  impulse,  from  the 
Missionary  enterprise  ? 

5.  And  thus  we  have  been  gradually  regaining  the 
long-forgotten,  but  invaluable  conviction,  that  the  cause 
of  religion  at  home  and  abroad  is  one.  If  Christian 
Missions  have  taught  us,  on  the  one  hand,  that  the 
same  principles  which  prompt  us  to  train  up  our  chil- 
dren in  the  fear  of  God,  and  to  seek  the  salvation  of 
those  immediately  around  us,  impel  to  evangelical 
efforts  for  the  benefit  of  every  portion  of  the  human 
race,  and  that  to  attempt  to  separate  living  piety  from 
expansive  beneficence  is  almost  as  vain  as  it  is  unscrip- 
tural,  by  bringing  to  light  new  and  fearful  scenes  of 
foreign  destitution,  and  by  thus  arousing  attention  and 
quickening   our  Christian  sensibilities,  they   have  been 

21 


242  EEFLEX  SPmiTUAL  BENEFITS 

the  means,  on  the  other,  of  preparing  us  to  feel  a  live- 
lier interest  in  the  claims  of  home.  Evils  to  which  we 
had  become  resigned,  because  they  were  continually 
before  our  eyes,  and  which  escaped  our  animadversion 
almost  as  much  as  if  they  formed  an  inseparable  part 
of  the  course  of  nature,  have  consequently  been  not 
only  deplored,  but  successfully  assailed.  The  reasons 
which  are  assigned  for  sending  the  Gospel  abroad,  are 
felt  to  acquire  augmented  force  when  applied  to  the 
wants  of  the  perishing  at  home.  Besides  which,  the 
efforts  which  are  made  abroad,  are  found  to  demand 
more  than  an  equal  effort  at  home  to  supply  their 
expenditure.  While  this  improvement  at  home,  de- 
manding a  wider  sphere  than  the  country  which  gave 
it  birth,  is  transferred  to  the  unlimited  range  of  Mis- 
sionary labour ;  and  thus  the  infant-school  of  yesterday 
has  its  counterpart  to-day  in  the  glens  of  Africa,  the 
Australian  wilderness,  and  the  islands  of  the  Pacific ; 
and  what  is  gained  for  humanity  in  any  one  spot,  is 
found  not  to  impoverish  any  other,  but  to  be  gained 
for  humanity  throughout  the  world. *= 

6.  By  this  and  similar  means,  the  views  of  the 
Christian  Church  have  been  greatly  enlarged.  The 
Missionary  enterprise  could  have  been  conceived  only 
on  the  top  of  Pisgah.  It  refuses  to  entertain  any 
design  less  than  the  amelioration  of  the  species.  Taking 
it  for  granted  that  every  true  interest  is  universal,  it 
consults  as  it  prosecutes  its  march,  the  map  of  the 
world.  Its  appropriate  type  is  an  angel  flying  through 
the  midst  of  heaven. 

Even  the  discovery  of  a  new  continent,  and  the  en- 
largement of  the  universe  by  the  invention  of  the 
telescope,  gave  an  impulse  to  Europe,  the  force  of 
which  is  still  felt,  and  still  carrying  us  forward.  And 
should  the  objects  and  prospects  of  the  Missionary 
enterprise  produce  impressions  less  powerful  or  sublime  ? 
So  lofty   is  the  mount  of   contemplation   to   which  it 

♦  Douglas'  Advancement  of  Society,  &c.,  p.  216. 


OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  24S 

conducts  us, — so  boundless  the  prospect  which  it  there 
stretches  before  us, — and  so  completely  does  it  famihar- 
ize  our  minds  with  the  vast  designs  of  God,  and  the 
ample  plans  of  his  providence,  that  our  purposes  may 
well  seem  to  enlarge  greatly  beyond  the  proportion  of 
our  means.  The  statesman,  who  plans  only  to  preserve 
the  balance  of  empire,  and  whose  scheme  embraces  an 
age  beyond  his  own,  is  praised  for  the  reach  and  com- 
prehensiveness of  his  views.  But  what  are  the  pur- 
poses formed,  and  the  ends  aimed  at,  by  the  friends  of 
Missions  ?  They  lie  in  a  sphere  so  lofty,  that  the 
ambition  of  the  warrior  has  never  reached  h,  and  re- 
quire so  ample  a  scope,  that  the  policy  of  the  statesman 
would  be  spent  in  it  and  lost.  Their  field  is  the  world  ; 
and  their  aim  is  to  carry  the  torch  of  truth  into  the 
shadow  of  death ;  to  prepare  the  savage  for  society,  and 
to  give  society  a  sure  foundation ;  to  rescue  the  slave 
from  his  chains,  and  to  welcome  him  to  the  liberty  of 
the  Gospel ;  to  hush  the  discord  of  war,  and  to  restore 
the  various  branches  of  the  human  race  to  each  other 
by  restoring  them  to  God ;  and  to  see  all  the  crowns 
of  the  world  at  the  feet  of  Christ.  These  are  their 
daily  thoughts — their  most  familiar  designs.  If  true 
greatness  ennobles  whatever  it  touches,  must  not  the 
Missionary  enterprise  tend  to  dignify  all  who  voluntarily 
come  under  its  influence  ?  By  employing  us  as  its 
agents,  it  has  involved  us  in  the  mightiest  conflict  which 
the  universe  ever  saw,  and  has  invested  us  with  its  own 
exalted  character.  It  has  given  to  the  prayer,  *'thy 
kingdom  come,"  a  sublimity  in  ten  thousand  eyes, 
which  would  otherwise  have  been  blind  to  its  grandeur. 
And  twice  ten  thousand  who,  but  for  it,  would  most 
likely  have  been  immured  at  this  moment  within  their 
little  denominational  enclosure,  and  complaining,  hke 
Elijah,  of  their  supposed  isolation,  are  exhorting  each 
other  in  the  glowing  language  of  Isaiah,  and  saying,  "  Lift 
up  thine  eyes  round  about,  and  see  ;  all  they  gather  them- 
selves together,  they  come  to  thee  ;  thy  sons  come  from 
afar,  and  thy  daughters  are  nursed  at  thy  side.     Then 


244  REFLEX  SPIRITUAL  BENEFITS 

thou  shalt  see  and  flow  together,  and  thine  heart  shall 
fear  and  be  enlarged ;  because  the  abundance  of  the 
sea  shall  be  converted  unto  thee,  the  forces  of  the  Gen- 
tiles shall  come  unto  thee." 

7.  But  such  Christian  enlargement  of  spirit  leads  to 
the  sympathetic  union  of  all  loho  become  conscious  of 
its  expanding  influence.  True,  it  must  be  deplored 
with  deep  humihation  before  God  that  the  cementing 
tendency  of  Christian  Missions  has  of  late  years  met 
with  lamentable  interruptions.  In  the  midst  of  those 
very  interruptions,  however,  the  Missionary  spirit,  by 
often  triumphing  over  them,  has  been  the  means  of 
exemplifying  the  surpassing  power  of  genuine  piety, 
and  of  furnishing  the  strongest  ground  to  hope  for  their 
final  and  utter  removal.  Forgetting  their  scruples  and 
their  preferences,  the  friends  of  Missions  have  at  times 
been  seen  according  their  hearty  support  of  the  glorious 
Gospel,  by  whomsoever  diffused.  With  a  ha])py  in- 
consistency they  have  hailed  the  Missionary  successes 
of  others,  and  have  thus  crossed  the  denominational 
line  of  separation,  and  seized  the  fruits  which  belong 
to  a  season  of  visible  union.  While,  by  every  prayer 
they  have  breathed  for  Missionary  efforts,  they  have 
been  virtually  affirming  and  consecrating  this  catholic 
principle,  that  it  is  becoming,  and  scriptural,  to  aid  the 
diffusion  of  the  Gospel  abroad,  whoever  the  Christian 
agents  may  be  ;  and  to  aid  them  in  the  mightiest  of 
all  forms,  by  invoking  in  their  behalf  the  blessing  of  God. 

But  besides  affirming  this  great  principle  of  Christian 
sympathy,  under  circumstances  the  most  adverse  to 
more  visble  and  entire  union,  the  Missionary  enterprise 
has  been  extensively  the  means,  under  God,  of  pre- 
venting many  a  rupture  which  would  otherwise  have 
occurred,  and  of  strengthening  many  a  bond  of  attach- 
ment which  would  else  have  been  burst  asunder.  As 
a  fine  illustration,  we  quote  the  following  extract  from 
the   Report*   of  an    American  Missionary   Society  : — 

*  Twenty-fifth  Annual  Keport  of  the  American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners for  Foreign  Missions^  1834;  pp.  30,  31. 


OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  245 

''  The  whole  business  of  forming  these  Boards  [of 
Foreign  Missions]  was  conducted  in  all  three  of  the 
Synods  with  entire  unanimity,  and  was  felt  by  all  to 
have  exerted  on  these  bodies,  and  on  the  cause  of  reli- 
gion as  they  are  related  to  it,  a  most  hapjjy  influence. 
In  the  Synod  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  the 
business  was  concluded  by  the  unanimous  adoption  of 
the  following  resolution  : — '  Resolved, — That  this  Synod 
acknowledge  with  gratitude,  the  goodness  of  God,  in 
bringing  before  them  the  great  subject  of  Foreign 
Missions,  and  in  directing  them  to  a  unanimous  and 
blessed  result.' "  And  a  member  of  the  Synod,  a  pastor 
of  one  of  its  most  important  churches,  speaks  of  the 
influence  of  these  proceedings  as  follows,  in  a  letter  to 
one  of  the  secretaries  :  *'  This  Synod  has  been  by  it 
saved  from  disunion  and  discord.  It  has  been  har- 
monized and  united.  It  has  been  melted  down  into 
one  mass.  It  has  now  one  soul,  and  breathes  one  sen- 
timent— to  live,  not  for  ourselves,  or  our  own  sectional 
interests,  but  for  the  conversion  of  the  world.  Such 
a  happy,  holy,  rejoicing,  and  blessed  meeting  of  Synod 
has  never,  according  to  the  opinion  of  the  eldest  mem- 
bers, been  witnessed  and  enjoyed.  There  were  dark 
and  portentous  clouds  hanging  over  it.  Every  mind 
was  filled  with  apprehension.  Each  feared  to  ask  the 
sentiment  of  his  brother.  But  the  clouds  are  dispersed 
and  gone.  Our  fears  are  changed  into  joys,  and  we 
parted  from  each  other  in  the  warmest  interchange  of 
brotherly  affection.  And  all  is  attributable — and,  by 
a  solemn  recorded  resolution  of  the  Synod,  is  ascribed 
— to  the  discussion  of  the  Missionary  subject,  and 
engagement  in  the  Missionary  cause.  The  scene  which 
occurred  when  we  all  stood  up,  after  uniting  in  prayer, 
to  adopt  the  whole  constitution,  was  overpowering. 
There  were  few  dry  eyes,  even  of  those  unused  to 
tears.  There  were  frequent  and  loud  sobbings.  There 
was  the  solemnity  of  eternity.  There  was  the  cool 
intrepidity  of  a  band  of  soldiers,  preparing  for  a  charge 
upon  the  citadel  of  an  armed  and  enraged  enemy. 
21* 


246  REFLEX  SPIRITUAL  BENEFITS 

After  adopting  the  constitution,  we  sang  the  Mission- 
ary hymn,  when  it  seemed  that  heaven  heard  the  sound, 
and  earth  responded  with  a  glad  '  Amen.'  " 

8.  But  the  same  Missionary  enlargement  of  spirit 
which  tends  to  unite  all  who  partake  of  it  into  one 
sympathetic  brotherhood,  has  also  led  to  the  loilling 
consecration  of  their  property.  Such  was  the  boundless 
benevolence  of  Christ,  that  "for  the  joy  set  before 
him,"  and  which  consisted  partly  in  the  prospect  of 
human  salvation^  he  "endured  the  cross,  despising 
the  shame."  Was  it  then  to  be  wondered  at  if  his 
professed  followers  should  so  far  share  in  his  benevo- 
lence as  to  contribute  a  portion  of  their  property  for 
an  object  for  which  he  gave  "  his  own  self  .^"  Accord- 
ingly, the  widow  has  been  seen  casting  into  the  Mission 
treasury  of  her  penury,  and  the  rich  man  of  his 
abundance  ;  and  though  the  scale  of  Christian  liberality 
is  still  far  below  the  standard  of  the  gospel,  yet  how 
much  lower  would  it  have  been,  humanly  speaking, 
but  for  the  ennobling  influence  of  Christian  Missions  .■* 
How  many  have  been  led  to  abandon  the  notion, 
that  we  may  allowably  hoard  up  our  property  while 
we  live,  if  we  will  only  make  a  religious  bequest  of 
a  certain  proportion  of  it  at  death  !  Strange  as  it 
would  have  appeared  to  us  all  a  few  years  ago,  and 
strange  as  it  seems  even  now  to  those  who  are  behind 
their  age.  Christians  can  be  found  whose  religious 
charities  considerably  exceed  a  tenth  of  their  income. 
Millions  have  been  contributed  to  Christian  Missions, 
a  large  proportion  of  which  would  otherwise  have  been 
given  to  "the  lust  of  the  flesh,  and  the  lust  of  the 
eyes,  and  the  pride  of  life."  And  the  number  is  in- 
creasing of  those  who  are  ready  to  add  to  their  other 
oiFerings  upon  the  altar,  themselves,  and  their  children. 

In  three  respects  especially  has  the  Missionary  en- 
terprise produced  a  most  salutary  effect  on  Christian 
liberality.  It  has  shown  that,  like  every  other  dis- 
position, benevolence  is  strengthened  by  exercise  ;  for 
in     proportion    as     information     concerning     heathen 


OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  247 

wretchedness  and  Christian  obligation  to  alleviate  it 
has  been  circulated,  every  increased  demand  for  Chris- 
tian charity  has  been  regularly  met  with  an  increased 
supply.  2.  It  has  led  many  who  gave  from  impulse 
only  to  contribute  from  principle,  and  on  a  system ; 
and  has  thus  given  to  charity  the  character  of  a  holy 
philosophy.  3.  And  it  has  produced  an  auspicious 
dissatisfaction  with  the  highest  scale  of  liberality 
hitherto  attained,  and  awakened  a  conviction  that  the 
pecuniary  resources  of  a  Church  adequately  alive  to 
its  obligations  would,  under  the  Divine  administration  of 
Him  who  multiplied  a  morsel  into  a  feast  for  five  thou- 
sand, prove  indefinite  and  inexhaustible. 

9.  Nor  has  the  Missionary  enterprise  less  directly 
tended  to  aioaken  and  cherish  a  spirit  of  prayer.  We 
have  already  spoken  of  the  period  when  monthly 
Missionary  meetings  for  prayer  were  commenced  as 
an  era  in  the  history  of  Christian  Missions  ;  and  though 
every  division  of  the  Christian  community  may  not 
have  formally  adopted  the  same  course,  there  is  no 
portion  perhaps  which  has  not  in  consequence  been 
favourably  influenced ;  certainly  none  which  the  Mis- 
sionary spirit  has  not  quickened  into  increased  devotion. 
Owing  to  the  same  cause,  how  much  greater  a  promi- 
nence has  been  given  to  the  doctrine  of  Divine  in- 
^fluence,  and  how  much  more  deeply  have  thousands 
felt  their  dependence  upon  it  !  How  many  a  public 
meeting  has  solemnly  resolved  to  the  efiect,  ''  That, 
recognizing  their  dependence  on  the  gracious  agency 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  all  success  in  labours  for  saving 
the  heathen,  and  the  indispensable  importance  of  fervent 
and  importunate  supplication  to  Almighty  God  for 
this  purpose,"  Christians  should  be  exhorted  and  excited 
to  increased  intercession.  And  how  many  an  instance 
of  private  devotion  has  ensued,  unknown  to  man,  but 
witnessed  by  angels,  and  recorded  in  heaven,  in  which 
such  resolutions  have  been  carried  into  effect  "  with 
strong  crying  and   tears."     Indeed,   what  is  now  the 


248  REFLEX  SPIRITUAL  BENEFITS 

one  ardent  all-comprehending  desire  of  the  holiest 
portion  of  the  Christian  Church  but  this,  "Let  the 
whole  earth  be  filled  with  his  glory ;''  a  desire  which, 
in  the  eye  of  God,  is  equally  a  prayer,  whether  it 
be  "  uttered  or  unexpressed ;"  so  that  it  may  be 
regarded  as  always  ascending  ;  a  desire  which  gives 
birth  in  every  heart  that  cherishes  it  to  a  thousand 
kindred  desires,  each  of  which  brings  down  the  Divine 
blessing,  not  on  the  Missionary  enterprise  alone,  but 
on  the  entire  field  of  Christian  activity ;  and  a  desire 
which,  as  it  cannot  be  urged  in  prayer  without  being 
fulfilled,  so  it  cannot  be  fulfilled  without  multiplying 
the  number  of  Christian  suppliants,  and  thus  filling 
the  Church  with  intercessors  for  the  world.  "  O  thou 
that  hearest  prayer,  unto  thee  shall  all  flesh  come." 

10.  What  noble  specimens  of  Christian  character 
has  the  Missionary  enterprise  given  to  the  Church 
and  to  the  loorld !  The  enterprise  itself  is  a  pure 
creation  of  Christianity.  It  is  a  combination,  not  of 
the  worldly  and  selfish  to  advance  their  own  peculiar 
interests ;  not  of  the  powerful  and  the  wealthy  to 
tyrannize  over  the  poor  and  the  helpless ;  but  an 
association  of  the  great  and  the  good,  of  the  aged 
pastor,  the  ardent  Missionary,  and  the  young  disciple, — 
of  all  that  is  excellent  in  the  Christian  Church  ;  an 
association  in  which  the  wealth  of  the  affluent,  the 
tongue  of  the  learned,  the  prayer  of  the  poor,  and  the 
mite  of  the  widow  are  combined  and  engaged  to  give 
the  Gospel  to  all  the  tribes  and  nations  of  the  earth. 

But  among  the  friends  and  agents  of  this  unworldly 
confederation  there  are  some  whose  character  shines 
with  peculiar  lustre.  Here  female  piety  has  recovered 
and  displayed  anew  the  glory  which  it  won  when  it 
wept  at  the  cross,  and  was  early  at  the  sepulchre. 
Here  offerings  more  costly  than  those  of  the  "  sweet 
spices"  of  the  sepulchre  have  been  presented  by  the 
Christian  Marys  of  modern  times.  Here  many  a 
mother,  whom  the  world  knows  not,  has,  in  the  depth 


OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  249 

of  lier  own  heart,  like  the  mother  of  Mills,*  dedicated 
her  offspring  to  a  post  of  distant  labour.  What 
Spartan  mother  of  old,  when  buckling  on  the  armour 
of  her  son,  and  bidding  him,  as  she  gave  him  his 
shield,  "either  to  bring  it  back,  or  to  be  brought 
back  upon  it,"  can  compare  with  the  widowed  mother 
of  Lyman,  when  she  replied  to  the  intelligence  that 
her  son  had  been  murdered  by  the  cannibal  Battas, 
"  I  bless  God,  who  gave  me  such  a  son  to  go  to 
the  heathen,  and  I  never  felt  so  strongly  as  I  do  at 
this  moment  the  desire  that  some  others  of  my  sons 
may  become  Missionaries  also,  and  may  go  and  preach 
salvation  to  those  savage  men  w^io  have  drunk  the 
blood  of  my  son."f  What  ancient  Hebrew  women, 
receiving  "their  dead  raised  to  life  again,"  surpassed 
the  self-denying  faith  of  the  widowed  mother  who 
could  say  of  a  son  to  whom  herself  and  her  seven 
children  were  beginning  to  look  for  support,  "Let 
him  go  ;  God  will  provide  for  me  and  my  babes.  And 
who  am  I,  that  I  should  be  thus  honoured  to  have 
a  son  a  Missionary  to  the  heathen  .'^"  and  who,  when 
that  son  had  laboured  successfully  in  India,  and  had 
died,  could  say  of  a  second  who  aspired  to  walk  in 
the  footsteps  of  his  brother,  "Let  William  follow 
Joseph,  though  it  be  to  India  and  an  early  grave  ?"J 
Here  the  accomplished  and  highly  intellectual  female 
may  be  seen  meekly,  yet  firmly,  devoting  herself  to 
a  distant  and  arduous  career ;  vieing  with  the  hero 
in  his  defiance  of  dangers,  and  with  the  martyr  in 
the  endurance  of  them.  If  self-devotion  deserve  our 
applause,  who  can  present  a  stronger  claim  than  Harriet 
Newell  ?  If  the  heroic  endurance  of  suffering  is  to 
be  embalmed  in  the  memory,  who  deserves  a  brighter 
memorial  than  Anne  Hazeltine  Judson  ? 

But  to  speak  of  all  the   examples  of  moral  greatness 
associated  with  the  Missionary  enterprise,   is  to  speak 

*  Smith  and  Choules'  History  of  Missions,  vol.  ii.  p.  234. 
t  Holt's  Missionary  Anecdotes,  p.  260.        :j:  Idem,  p.  262. 


250  KEFLEX  SPIRITUAL  BENEFITS 

of  a  number  which  *'  the  time  would  fail  me  to  tell." 
Who  does  not  think  of  those  men  of  the  Western 
wilderness  who  first  taught  us  in  modern  times  how 
the  savage  is  to  be  reclaimed  ?  Who  does  not  think 
of  the  Moravian  heroes  of  Greenland  and  Labrador 
in  the  north ;  of  the  early  mission  to  Tranquebar 
in  the  east ;  and  of  those  w-ho  first  toiled  and  felt 
in  Africa,  south  ?  and  who  can  think  of  them  without 
feeling  that,  under  God,  they  and  their  successors 
have  served,  and  saved  the  character  of,  the  Christian 
Church  ? 

To  admire  self-devotion  and  noble  daring  in  theory 
only  is  cheap  virtue  ;  and  yet,  prior  to  the  rise  of 
Missions  but  (ew  Christians  were  doing  more  than 
this.  If  the  rising  offspring  of  religious  parents  would 
read  of  wasting  privations  endured,  of  dangers  braved 
and  vanquished,  and  of  conflicts  attempted  and  achieved, 
— the  most  attractive  topics  for  the  young,  they  had 
to  seek  them  in  the  pages  of  the  enterprising  merchant, 
the  soldier,  or  the  scientific  traveller.  To  practise 
self-denial  which  should  be  repaid  only  by  conscience, 
to  think  of  beneficence  without  fame,  to  do  anything 
more  than  admire  the  disinterested  zeal  of  the  Re- 
formers, Confessors,  and  Missionaries  of  former  times, 
would  have  been  deemed  not  less  impracticable  by 
the  church,  generally,  than  irrational  by  the  world. 
Now  to  the  men  who  have  been  raised  up  by  God 
in  the  service  of  modern  Missions  w'e  are  greatly  in- 
debted for  the  termination  of  this  guilty  delusion. 
They  have  shov;n  that  the  Church  need  not  be  tame 
and  uninteresting  in  its  character ;  that  the  world  need 
not  be  allowed  to  monopolize  all  that  is  fascinating  in 
youthful  eyes  ;  that  real  greatness  need  not  be  suspended 
in  the  clouds,  and  admired  as  a  rainbow ;  but  that  it 
may  be  brought  down  and  embodied  in  actual  life.  Who 
does  not  feel  that  their  example  has  instrumentally 
created  in  the  Church  the  atmosphere  of  a  nobler 
piety,  and  that  we  are  hving  under  its  influence  ? 

The  lowest    benefit    they   have   conferred   is,   that 


OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  251 

they  have  robbed  the  apathetic  of  their  plea ;  so  that, 
till  the  voice  of  history  shall  be  dumb,  wherever  aa 
effort  shall  be  made  to  invade  the  kingdom  of  darkness, 
their  example  will  be  present  to  silence  the  objection 
that  though  the  theory  is  good,  it  is  impossible  to 
put  it  in  practice.  There  is  virtue  even  in  their 
memory.  It  imposes  a  restraint  on  the  worldliness 
of  thousands.  As  their  professed  admirers,  we  feel 
ourselves  bound  not  to  fall  too  glaringly  below  their 
standard  of  excellence. 

But  if  they  are  only  preventing  some  from  falling 
below  a  certain  point,  they  are  exciting  numbers  to  rise. 
And  who  does  not  recognise  the  wisdom  of  God  in 
appointing  that  some  of  the  pioneers  in  the  modern 
Missionary  field  should  have  been  giants  in  holy  daring 
and  strength  ?  and  as  such,  fitted  to  be  exemplars  to 
all  who  came  after  them  in  the  same  career.  In  the 
vocabulary  of  the  church,  their  names  have  become 
synonymes  for  every  species  of  active  excellence.  Eliot, 
Zeisberger,  and  Brainerd,  are  but  other  names  for  inde- 
fatigable labour  and  enterprise,  and  self-consuming 
ardour.  We  think  of  Swarlz,  and  the  might  of 
character.  The  accomplished  youth,  panting  to  live 
for  Christ  in  distant  lands,  but  derided  as  a  visionary, 
thinks  of  Martyn,  and  takes  courage.  Pious  and  dis- 
interested poverty  reads  of  Carey,  and  emerges  from  its 
humble  cell  to  perform  labours  which  excite  the  devout 
thanksgiving  of  the  Church.  Faith  looks  at  the  origin 
and  early  history  of  the  Moravian  Mission,  and,  undis- 
mayed by  the  scantiness  of  her  human  resources,  girds 
up  the  loins  of  her  mind,  and  addresses  herself  to  her 
task  afresh.  Their  biography  is  creating  for  the  Church 
a  literature  of  its  own.  Their  example  is  reproducing 
itself  in  a  second  race.  To  the  influence  of  Brainerd, 
the  Church  is  chiefly  indebted,  under  God,  for  the 
labours  of  a  Milne.  The  pious  father  gives  their  names 
to  his  sons,  as  a  title  of  excellence,  and  an  incitement 
to  attain  it.  Their  zeal  for  God  has  kindled  a  fire  at 
which  numbers  daily  are  lighting  their  torch.       And 


252  REFLEX  SPIRITUAL  BENEFITS 

thus,  in  various  ways,  have  they  given  ardour  to  holy 
activity,  and  muhiplied  the  power  of  truth ;  while  the 
Church  below  unites  with  the  Church  above  in  ^'glo- 
rifying God  in  them." 

11.  Owing  to  some  of  the  particulars  last  enumerated, 
it  is,  that  the  Christian  Church  has  been  gradually 
awakened  to  the  practicability  of  the  Missionary  enter- 
prise, and  to  the  conviction  that  it  is  the  duty  of  all  its 
members  to  espouse  it.  The  rising  children  of  the 
Church  may  regard  this  duty  as  so  self-evident  that  it 
could  never  have  been  doubted.  They  are  to  be  as- 
sured, however,  that  its  practical  admission  is  but  of 
recent  date,  and  that  their  fathers  in  Christ  had  first 
lo  be  convinced  of  it  themselves,  and  then  laboriously 
to  convince  others.  They  are  to  be  assured  that  it  was 
but  as  yesterday  that  Christians  generally  were  re- 
garding the  enormous  abominations  of  paganism  with  a 
kind  of  submissive  awe,  as  if  they  had  been  inevitable 
conditions  of  humanity ;  or,  if  they  thought  of  their 
ultimate  removal,  it  was  expected  only  as  the  result  of 
a  miraculous  intervention  which  it  was  almost  pre- 
sumptuous in  them  to  urge,  and  in  prospect  of  which 
it  became  them  rather  to  "  stand  still  and  see  the  sal- 
vation of  God."  Meanwhile,  the  heathen  were  perish- 
ing through  their  neglect.  He  who  had  laid  all  their 
powers  under  tribute  for  the  service,  was  "  walking  in 
the  midst"  of  them,  and  repeating,  "  Go  into  all  the 
world,  preach  my  gospel  to  every  creature,"  and  the 
guilt  of  centuries  of  disobedience,  accumulated  at  their 
door,  was  daily  and  hourly  rising  higher.  Who  then 
can  duly  estimate  the  magnitude  of  the  benefit  conferred 
on  the  Church,  by  that  instrumentality  by  which  it  has 
been  aroused  to  attempt  the  salvation  of  those  heathen, 
to  obey  that  high  command,  and,  at  least,  to  prevent 
that  mountain  of  guilt  from  rising  higher  ?  Yet  such 
is  the  nature  of  the  benefit  conferred  by  the  Missionary 
enterprise.  Not  only  has  it  been  the  means  of  creating 
lofty  specimens  of  individual  Christian  character ;  it 
has  given  a  new  character  to  the  collective  church.     The 


OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  263 

knowledge  which  it  has  circulated  even  in  the  most 
retired  parts  of  the  country,  and  among  the  lowest  ranks 
of  society,  concerning  the  state  of  the  heathen,  has 
moved  the  compassion  of  the  faithful  generally.  By 
the  enforcement  of  scriptural  obligation  on  the  subject, 
it  has  made  them  all  feel,  in  different  degrees,  that 
every  one  can  do  something.  By  the  organization  of 
auxiliary  Societies,  it  has  excited  and  engaged  the  aid 
of  the  humblest,  and  seeks  to  engage  the  co-operation 
of  all.  By  the  noble  examples  of  self-consecration 
which  it  has  placed  before  the  church,  numbers  have 
been  led  to  inquire  whether  or  not  they  are  living  as 
they  ought  for  the  conversion  of  the  world.  While, 
with  each  returning  year,  the  sentiment  of  a  thousand 
resolutions  proposed  at  public  meetings,  and  responded 
to  by  twice  ten  thousand  hearts  is  substantially  this, — 
"  that  more  must  be  done."  In  this  way  the  Church 
is  becoming  more  than  ever  militant  and  aggressive. 
The  spirit  of  Missions  is  felt  to  be  the  true  spirit  of  the 
Gospel.  The  noblest  ambition  is  aroused — the  ambition 
of  turning  the  world's  darkness  into  an  empire  of  light 
and  peace. 

12.  But  by  conferring  this  benefit  on  the  Church  and 
directing  its  attention  to  the  state  of  the  world,  the 
Missionary  enterprise  has  been  gradually  reducing  the 
strongholds  of  infidelity^  and  "  taking  from  it  the  arms 
wherein  it  trusted."  As  far  as  the  assaults  of  this 
monster  evil  have  been  made,  at  any  time,  against  the 
grounds  of  our  faith.  Christians  have  only  themselves 
to  thank.  That  the  world  should  voluntarily  lay  aside 
its  hostility  to  holiness,  do  whatever  the  Church  may, 
is  not  to  be  expected  ;  but  that  hostility  is  divisible 
into  two  kinds — that  which  is  directed  against  Chris- 
tianity, and  that  which  is  aimed  at  its  professors.  And 
what  Christian  would  not  rather  that  it  should  be 
levelled  at  his  own  character,  than  at  that  of  the  Gospel, 
or  of  his  ever-blessed  Lord  ?  And  who  does  not  per- 
ceive, judging  from  the  history  of  the  Church,  that 
Christians   may  generally  choose   which   shall   be  the 

22 


254  REFLEX  SPmiTUAL  BENEFITS 

object  of  the  world's  attack — the  Gospel  or  its  pro- 
fessors ?  Let  them  take  the  field  ;  act  on  the  aggres- 
sif-e  ;  carry  their  arms  into  the  enemies'  country  ;  and 
we  hear  scarcely  a  word  against  the  truth  of  the  Gospel ; 
we  give  the  world  no  leisure  to  indulge  in  speculative 
scepticism  ;  it  finds  enough  to  do  in  stigmatizing  our 
character  as  hypocrites,  enthusiasts,  and  fanatics.  But 
let  us  quit  the  field  ;  shut  ourselves  up  in  self-indul- 
gence within  the  walls  of  the  Church  ;  and  the  world 
will  advance,  as  an  earthly  army  in  similar  circum- 
stances would  do,  and  will  sap  and  mine  our  defences 
as  the  only  means  of  reaching  and  destroying  us.  Our 
indolence,  in  that  case,  leaves  it  nothing  else  to  do. 

Now  the  effect  of  modern  Missions,  on  the  tactics  of 
infidelity,  illustrates  the  truth  of  these  remarks.  Where 
now  is  the  infidelity  of  Spinosa  and  the  Pantheists ;  of 
Bayle  and  academic  doubts  ;  of  Voltaire  and  ridicule — 
of  Hume,  Gibbon,  and  Rousseau  ?  Since  the  Missionary 
enterprise  commenced,  it  has  almost  entirely  changed 
its  ground,  and  its  weapons.  Was  it  one  of  its  favourite 
objections  that  the  apathy  of  Christians  for  the  heathen, 
demonstrated  that  they  did  not  believe  their  own  book  ? 
Every  additional  Missionary  that  goes  forth  is  assisting 
to  convert  that  objection,  from  a  weapon  of  attack  into 
a  means  of  Christian  defence.  Was  the  extreme  limita- 
tion of  Christendom,  as  compared  with  the  world  at 
large,  another  of  the  objections  on  which  it  relied  ? 
Every  new  region  reclaimed  from  idolatry,  and  every 
additional  church  planted  in  heathen  lands,  blunt  the 
edge  of  this  objection.  After  pointing  with  scorn  at 
the  contracted  limits  of  Christendom,  did  it  then  pour 
ridicule  on  Christians  for  attempting  to  enlarge  those 
bounds  ^  but  this  could  have  arisen  only  from  the  sup- 
posed impotence  of  the  Gospel  by  which  they  proposed 
to  effect  the  change.  So  conspicuous,  however,  have 
been  the  triumphs  of  the  Cross,  in  many  of  the  most 
hopeless  parts  of  the  heathen  world,  that  even  the 
magicians  of  worldly  philosophy  themselves  begin  to 
acknowledge  that  *'this  is  the  finger  of  God,"  and  to  des- 


OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  255 

pair  of  ever  being  able  to  "do  the  same  with  their  en- 
chantments." 

13.  But  besides  assisting  to  disarm  infidehty,  the 
Missionary  enterprise  has  eminently  promoted  the  cause 
of  biblical  study,  augmented  the  evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity,  and  proportionally  increased  our  confidence  in 
the  divinity  of  its  character,  and  in  the  certainty  of  its 
ultimate  triumphs.  If  sacred  science  be  distributed  into 
the  critical  or  verbal,  the  devout  or  practical,  and  the 
scientific  or  theological,  the  cultivation  of  the  first  of 
these  may  be  considered  as  laudably  characteristic  of 
the  present  day.  Now  whatever  advantage  may  accrue 
from  this  source  to  the  cause  of  truth  in  general,  must 
be  ascribed,  partly,  if  not  chiefly,  to  the  influence  of 
Christian  Missions.  For  by  creating  a  demand  for  the 
circulation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  heathen  lands,  and 
by  securing  their  translation  into  many  of  the  languages 
of  the  earth,  it  has,  in  conjunction  with  the  Bible 
Society,  necessarily  led  to  the  unprecedented  cultivation 
of  this  important  branch  of  sacred  study.  And  even 
as  to  the  other  departments,  which  we  have  specified, 
the  influence  of  Missions  has  conferred  on  the  Church 
a  greater  benefit  than  all  the  theological  polemics  of 
the  last  century  ;  for  if  it  has  not  confuted  any  heresy, 
it  has  rendered  perhaps  a  still  more  important  service, 
in  causing  some  to  be  practically  extinguished  and  for- 
gotten. While,  by  the  new  demands  which  it  has  de- 
volved on  the  Church,  and  the  new  relations  which  we 
find  ourselves  called  to  sustain,  the  entire  Bible  has 
com.e  to  assume  a  comparatively  Missionary  character. 
Not  merely  single  verses,  but  whole  masses  of  truth, 
have  acquired  a  meaning  and  an  importance  in  our  eyes, 
before  unknown. 

The  Missionary  enterprise  has  contributed  in  various 
ways  to  illustrate  the  divinity  of  the  Gospel.  It  as- 
sumes that  men  are  every  where  the  same — guilty  and 
depraved.  But  who  could  be  aware  of  the  fact  except 
*'the  God  of  the  whole  earth  .^"     When  the  Gospel 


256  REFLEX  SPIRITUAL  BENEFITS 

was  written,  vast  regions  of  the  earth  remained  to  be 
explored,  and  populous  countries  to  be  discovered. 
How  then  could  the  writers  of  the  Gospel  have  accu- 
rately described  the  character  of  men  in  unknown  lands, 
if  they  had  not  "spoken  as  they  were  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost?"  Infidelity  has  often  essayed  to  prove 
that  the  depravity  of  man  admits  of  large  exceptions ; 
that  in  some  states  of  society  he  is  innocent;  and  that 
nothing  but  the  discovery  of  a  new  people  was  wanting 
to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  its  theory.  Who  then  could 
sketch  a  likeness  of  man,  which  men  of  all  times  and 
tongues  should  recognise  as  their  own,  but  he  who 
"knew  what  was  in  man  ?"  By  the  same  means,  the 
universal  adaptation  of  the  Gospel  has  received  the  most 
striking  additional  proof.  Not  only  have  Missionaries 
in  India  been  charged  by  the  natives  with  forging  its 
faithful  delineations  of  heathenism  after  their  arrival  in 
that  country ;  but  when  it  has  filled  the  soul  with  a  sense 
of  guilt  approaching  to  agony,  and  which  nothing  human 
could  allay,  it  has  further  demonstrated  its  divinity  by 
saying,  "Peace,  be  still,  and  there  was  a  great  calm." 
How  often  has  the  convert  from  heathenism  acknow- 
ledged, like  Cupido  the  well  known  Hottentot,  that 
while  listening  to  the  Gospel  for  the  first  time,  he  was 
compelled  involuntarily  to  exclaim,  "this  is  the  truth; 
that  is  what  I  want!"  At  the  bare  announcement  of 
the  words,  "  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth 
us  from  all  sin" — the  devotee  walking  on  spikes  to 
atone  for  his  guilt,  has  thrown  off  his  torturing  sandals, 
and  exclaimed,  "  This  is  what  I  need  ;"  and  has  become 
"a  living  exposition  of  the  truth  !"  "  'How  beautiful, 
how  tender,  how  kind,' — Anundo,  a  pupil  in  the 
General  Assembly's  school,  Calcutta — was  often  heard 
to  exclaim,  while  reading  the  sermon  on  the  Mount — 
'  How  full  of  love  and  goodness  !  Oh  how  unlike  the 
spirit  and  maxims  of  Hindooism  !  Surely  this  is  the 
truth  !'  Never  was  there  a  more  striking  exemplification 
of  what  Owen  calls  'the  self-evidencing  power  of  the 


OP  CHKISriAN  MISSIONS.  257 

Bible.'"*  And  so  strong  and  sufficient  does  this  self- 
commending  internal  evidence  prove,  that  Missionary- 
converts  are  almost  uniformly  found  to  embrace  the 
Gospel  independently  of  its  external  proofs.  But  this 
circumstance  itself  is  additional  evidence  in  its  behalf. 
Hindooism,  without  leaving  its  native  land  to  challenge 
examination,  has  been  falsified  and  disproved.  The 
microscope  alone  has  laid  its  pretensions  in  the  dust,  by 
proving  that  the  Maker  of  infusoria  and  animalcula 
could  not  have  been  the  author  of  its  Shastres.  Geo- 
graphy has  done  the  same  for  Mahometanism,  by  show- 
ing that  the  "God  of  the  whole  earth"  could  not  have 
been  the  author  of  the  Koran ;  for  to  require  its  dis- 
ciples, during  the  Ramadan,  to  fast  from  the  rising  to 
the  setting  of  the  sun,  is  to  proclaim  its  ignorance  of 
the  arctic  and  antarctic  circles.  But  wherever  Chris- 
tianity has  gone,  it  has  derived  additional  evidence  of 
its  self-commending  excellence  and  universal  adaptation  ; 
thus  strengthening  our  conviction  that  the  Maker  of 
man  and  the  Author  of  the  Gospel  is  one — "the  only 
living  and  true  God." 

Still  further  is  this  conviction  deepened  by  the 
illustration  which  the  Missionary  enterprise  affords 
of  tlie  saving  poioer  of  the  Gospel.  Had  the  primitive 
Christians  been  perplexed  with  doubts  concerning  the 
sufficiency  of  the  Gospel  to  meet  cases  of  extreme 
depravity,  how  eminently  fitted  was  the  conversion  of 
Saul  of  Tarsus  to  remove  them  !  After  him,  of  whom 
need  they  despair  ?  Now  that  the  Christians  of  modern 
times  did  very  generally  entertain  doubts  of  this  de- 
scription, is  matter  of  authentic  record.  Whatever  thev 
might  hope  from  its  introduction  among  the  civilized 
and  inquiring,  they  were  more  than  distrustful  of  its 
reception  among  the  barbarous.  How  solemn  but 
gracious  a  rebuke  then  have  Missionary  successes  been 
the  means  of   administering  to  our  unbelief,  and  what 

♦  Holl,  p.  129 ;  furnished  by  Her.  Dr.  Duff,  in  the  Scots  Presby- 
terian Review. 

22* 


25S  REFLEX  SPIRITUAL  BENEFITS 

illustrious  evidence  have  they  supphed  that  the  Gospel 
is  still  "  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one 
that  believeth."  If  Christianity  has  conquered  Tahiti 
and  Labrador,  New  Zealand  and  Caffraria,  what  country 
can  stand  before  it  when  accompanied  by  the  grace  of 
its  Author  ? 

In  the  history  of  its  progress  we  recognise  almost 
every  display  of  gracious  power  of  which  the  mind 
can  conceive.  It  has  melted  the  inflexible  Iroquois 
into  penitence  and  tears ;  and  has  enabled  the  shrink- 
ing Hindoo  to  brave  the  loss  of  caste  and  the  martyr's 
pangs.  By  a  mightier  exorcism  than  the  Negro  or  the 
Esquimaux  had  ever  imagined,  it  has  delivered  the  one 
from  the  enslaving  fears  of  the  Obeah,  and  cast  out 
the  terrible  Torngak  from  the  creed  of  the  other. 
What  other  evidence  of  its  power  can  be  necessary  ? 
Under  its  subduing  and  humanizing  influence,  the 
convert  from  the  frozen  zone  has  been  hailed  as  a 
brother  in  Christ  by  the  Christian  Indian  in  his  native 
wilderness,  and  the  once  savage  warrior  of  America 
has  sent  letters  of  peace  and  love  to  the  fisher  of 
Greenland.  At  its  sound  the  barbarian  veteran  of  a 
hundred  battles,  and  of  a  hundred  years,  has  become 
a  little  child ;  and  a  host  of  warriors,  each  of  whom 
would  once  have  preferred  death  to  a  tear,  have  wept, 
"•'so  that  there  was  a  very  great  mourning  like  the  mourn- 
ing of  Hadadrimmon."*  What  other  evidence  can  be 
necessary  ?  Instruments  w'hich  had  never  been  used 
but  for  war  and  murder,  it  has  converted  to  useful 
and  even  sacred  purposes  ;t  and  tribes  which  had  never 
met  but  in  deadly  conflict,  it  assembles  together  around 
the  table  of  the  Lord.  It  has  declined  no  contest 
through  fear  of  defeat,  and  wherever  it  has  gone,  it 
has  erected  monuments  of  its  saving  power. 

What  other  evidence  can  be  necessary }  To  my 
mind,    says   the   eloquent   Richard    Watson,   there    is 

*  Brainerd's  Journal. 

t  Ellis's  Polynesian  Researches,  vol.  ii.  p.  519. 


OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  259 

nothing  in  the  history  of  the  Church  which  so  strikingly 
exhibits  the  power  of  our  religion,  as  its  triumphs 
over  the  moral  evils  so  uniformly  and  necessarily  in- 
herent in  a  system  of  slavery.  Glorious  were  the 
effects  of  Christianity  among  the  slaves  of  the  ancient 
world.  It  gave  cheerfulness  to  submission,  and  patience 
to  wrong ;  it  created  charity  where  gratitude  could 
have  no  place ;  shut  the  lip  of  reproach,  and  silenced 
murmuring.  But  owing  to  the  greater  evils  of  modern 
slavery,  religion,  in  our  colonies,  has  triumphed  more 
gloriously  still.  Its  light  has  penetrated,  so  to  speak, 
the  solid  darkness  of  mind  left  without  instruction ; 
it  has  struck  the  chords  of  feeling  in  hearts  unaccus- 
tomed to  salutary  emotion  ;  it  has  reconciled  man  to 
the  degradation  of  colour  and  feature  ;  it  has  produced 
charity  towards  those  who  have  dealt  out  to  them 
the  most  humbling  kinds  of  insult  ;  breathed  over  pas- 
sions which  when  once  awakened  are  terrible,  the  calm 
of  resignation  ;  and  taught  the  spirit,  spurned  from 
every  other  resting  place,  to  rest  in  God,  and  to  wait 
for  his  salvation. 

What  other  evidence  of  its  power  can  be  necessary  ? 
Among  Its  converts  are  men  whose  depravity  would 
have  compared  with  that  of  a  Jeroboam,  a  Manasseh, 
or  a  Saul  of  Tarsus  ; — Ananke,  the  Esquimaux  mur- 
derer ;  and  the  Mohican,  Tschoop,  a  monster  of  de- 
bauchery and  vice  ;  Africaner,  the  plunderer  of  neigh- 
bouring tribes,  and  the  destroyer  of  Missionary  settle- 
ments ;  Tamatoa,  once  blasphemously  worshipped  as 
a  god  ;  Vaza,  the  procurer  of  human  sacrifices  ;  and 
Romatane,  the  devastator  of  islands.  By  the  ministry 
of  the  Gospel,  the  Saviour  speaks  to  them,  as  from 
heaven,  and,  "  behold,  they  pray  !"  The  epitome  of 
vice  becomes  an  epistle  of  Christ.  The  demon  is  trans- 
formed into  ''  a  pattern  of  the  believers."  The  san- 
guinary chief  is  the  first  to  beseech  and  adjure  with 
tears  of  entreaty,  those  to  whom  his  name  had  been 
a  terror,  and  whose  race  he  had  almost  exterminated, 
to   embrace   salvation.     What    other   evidence    of  its 


260  REFLEX  SPIRITUAL  BENEFITS 

power  can  be  necessary  ?  If  the  success  of  the  Gospel 
on  its  first  promulgation  forms  an  evidence  of  its 
divinity,  the  success  of  the  modern  Missionary  enter- 
prise must  be  received  as  an  additional  evidence  to 
the  same  effect.  It  has  been  attended  v^ith  spiritual 
triumphs  of  the  same  kind  ;  and  which  can  only  be 
resolved  into  the  same  supernatural  cause.  Then  surely 
our  confidence  in  its  sufficiency,  as  the  instrument  of 
human  salvation,  should  be  proportionally  increased. 
Thus  it  was  with  the  apostles.  And  if  doubts  of  the 
divine  sufficiency  of  the  Gospel  ever  haunted  our 
minds,  imparting  feebleness  to  its  ministry,  and  creating 
indifference  as  to  its  difiusion,  what  should,  what  must 
be  the  effect  of  its  subsequent  triumphs,  but  to  impart 
ardour  to  our  activity,  and  earnestness  to  our  prayers, 
and  a  moral  dignity  to  our  onward  step,  eminently 
conducive,  through  God,  to  still  greater  success. 

14.  And  not  only  has  the  Missionary  enterprise  in- 
creased our  confidence  in  the  final  conversion  of  the 
heathen,  it  has  been  attended  by  the  salvation  of  many 
of  our  oivn  countrymen  both  at  home  and  abroad.  In 
commencing  our  remarks  on  the  reflex  spiritual  in- 
fluence of  Christian  IMissions,  we  adverted  to  the  service 
they  had  incidentally  rendered  the  Church  in  helping 
to  break  up  the  prevailing  monotony  of  its  religious 
occupations.  Who  can  doubt  but  that,  humanly 
speaking,  many  a  youth  whom  that  monotony  would 
have  repelled,  has  been  held,  by  the  new  attraction 
of  Christian  activity,  in  allegiance  to  the  outward  ser- 
vice of  God,  till  renewing  grace  has  changed  his  heart } 
And  who  can  question,  but  that  the  Missionary  spirit, 
thus  excited  and  bound  up  with  early  associations,  has 
given  its  character  to  the  man,  and  is  animating  and 
determining  the  useful  course  of  many  who,  but  for 
this,  would  have  been  lost  to  the  Church,  and  devoted 
to  the  world  ?  Indeed,  the  conversion  of  some  has 
actually  taken  place,  not  in  the  sanctuary  and  by  the 
ordinary  means  of  grace,  but  at  the  public  meetings 
of  our  religious  societies. 


OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS.  261 

Still  more  marked  have  been  the  saving  effects  of 
the  Missionary  cause  upon  our  countrymen  abroad. 
Between  thirty  and  forty  years  ago,  Buchanan  wrote, 
"  there  are  not  ten  righteous  men  to  be  found  in  Cal- 
cutta." "At  that  time,"  says  another  Missionary, 
"  you  might  have  travelled  from  one  extremity  of 
India  to  the  other,  and  have  found  no  premonition  of 
the  Sabbath-day  except  the  waving  of  flags  at  the 
military  stations.  As  to  the  mercantile  classes,  to  have 
closed  a  single  house  of  agency  on  the  Sabbath,  w^ould 
have  been  looked  on  as  a  strange  deviation  from  the 
customs  of  commercial  life.  Now,  it  would  be  deemed 
as  strange  a  departure  from  decorum  in  India,  were  a 
single  commercial  house  to  keep  open  its  doors  on 
that  sacred  day."  Then,  many  of  our  countrymen 
went  there,  not  only  almost  as  much  strangers  to  the 
Gospel  of  Peace  as  were  the  Hindoos  and  Mahometans 
themselves,  but,  amidst  the  polluting  influence  of 
heathenism,  they  became  ten  times  more  the  children 
of  hell  than  they  were  before  they  left  their  native 
shores.  Now,  among  all  classes,  but  especially  the 
various  armies  in  her  Majesty's  and  in  the  Honourable 
Company's  service,  a  redeeming  change  is  exhibited 
to  a  most  remarkable  extent.  Many  an  oflicer  emu- 
lates the  "centurion  of  the  Italian  band,"  in  devout 
and  active  piety.  Many  a  regiment  has  its  "praying 
company,"  and  its  active  agents  of  Christian  benevo- 
lence. Many  a  prodigal  has  there  been  met  by  Mis- 
sionary instrumentality;  has  himself  become  a  Mis- 
sionary, and  preached  the  faith  which  he  once  de- 
stroyed ;  and  many  others,  after  an  absence  in  India 
of  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  years,  have  returned  to  be  the 
means  of  the  conversion  of  their  own  parents,  and  to 
prove  distinguished  blessings  where  once  they  had  been 
a  curse. 

15.  And  innumerable  are  the  occasions  with  which 
Christian  Missions  have  furnished  the  Church  for 
glorifying  God,  Not  only  did  the  design  itself  origi- 
nate with  God,  in  the  sense  of  its  being  a  duty  to  be 


262  REFLEX  SPIRITUAL  BENEFITS 

found  in  his  Gospel,  but,  on  looking  back  and  remem- 
bering the  stony  indifference  to  that  design  evinced  by 
the  Church  in  general;  and  the  actual  opposition  to 
the  first  steps  of  the  Missionary  enterprise,  offered  by 
many  a  professed  Christian  ;  and  the  truly  insignificant 
measures  in  which  the  work  began — measures,  in  which 
the  actors  often  owed  their  toleration  to  contempt — 
who  can  doubt  that  the  primary  human  movers  were 
themselves  moved  by  God  ?  If  the  apostle  could  say  of 
the  primitive  churches,  ''they  glorified  God  in  me," 
how  often  have  we  been  constrained  to  recognise  the 
hand  of  God  in  raising  up  and  baptizing  with  a  measure 
of  the  apostolic  spirit  many  a  modern  Missionary  !  If 
they  acknowledge  the  Divine  superintendence  in  select- 
ing their  spheres  of  labour,  and  preparing  the  way 
for  their  successful  occupation,  how  often  have  we  been 
called  to  adore  the  presence  of  the  same  agency  in  the 
Missionary  field,  manifested  in  unexpected  interposi- 
tions, in  the  universal  concurrence  of  multiplied  and 
repellent  circumstances,  and  in  the  issue  of  the  whole 
in  some  most  unforseen  success.  How  many  a  burst 
of  sacred  joy  has  been  occasioned  by  the  intelligence  of 
new  conquests  achieved  over  heathenism,  and  new 
honours  accumulated  around  the  name  we  love — joy, 
the  most  pure,  ennobling,  and  rich,  which  grace  can 
awaken  in  the  faithful  on  earth,  and  which,  more  than 
any  other  sentiment,  connects  the  Church  below  with 
the  Church  above  in  one  spontaneous  ascription  of 
praise. 

As  to  the  manner  in  which  some  of  the  most  distin- 
guished of  these  triumphs  were  won — who  can  mark 
the  sudden  abandonment  of  idolatry  in  the  Polynesian 
islands  north  and  south  ;  in  the  latter,  when  the  Mission 
was  on  the  point  of  being  relinquished  in  despair  ;  and 
in  the  former,  by  the  spontaneous  will  of  the  natives 
before  any  Missionary  had  reached  them,  without  per- 
ceiving how  evidently  God  designed  to  secure  the  glory 
of  the  work  to  himself?  How  often  and  how  emphati- 
cally  have  we  been   taught   the   same   lesson   by  the 


OF  CHRI&nAN  MISSIONS.  263 

superior  success  which  has  crowned  the  artless  efforts 
of  the  native  teachers — success  which  has  frequently- 
left  the  British  Missionary  nothing  to  do,  but,  hke 
Barnabas,  to  go  and  see  the  grace  of  God,  and  be 
glad.  On  comparing  the  Missionary  contributions  and 
activity  of  the  churches  at  present — small  as  they  still 
are — with  the  apathy  of  the  past,  and  remembering  the 
grandeur  of  the  results  to  which  they  tend,  how  many 
a  Christian  has  been  led  to  say  with  the  mingled  abase- 
ment and  gratitude  of  David,  "  Who  am  I,  and  what 
is  my  people,  that  we  should  be  able  to  offer  so  will- 
ingly after  this  sort ...  to  build  thee  a  house  for  thine 
holy  name  .^"  What  deep  humiliation  has  been  felt 
by  thousands — and  never  perhaps  was  more  deeply  felt 
than  at  this  moment — at  the  fact  that  the  heathen 
world  is  crying  to  us  for  spiritual  help  and  perishing 
in  its  cries  ;  that  God  is  saying  to  us  by  his  word  and 
providence,  "Hasten  to  their  relief  with  the  Gospel," 
and  yet  that  we  should  be  so  deplorably  unprepared 
to  obey.  What  grateful  admiration,  that  God  should 
have  afforded  us  so  many  distinguished  proofs  that  he 
is  still  in  the  midst  of  us  ;  and  what  earnest  entreaties 
that  he  would  arouse  the  entire  Church  to  a  sense  of 
its  new  and  vast  obligations,  and  would  graciously  pour 
out  upon  us  his  Spirit  from  on  high.  The  direct  ten- 
dency of  all  our  Missionary  operations  hitherto,  is  to 
bring  the  Church  on  its  knees  before  God  in  unfeigned 
gratitude  for  the  past,  and  entire  dependence  for  the 
future  ;  prepared  to  inscribe  on  the  sublime  result  of 
the  whole,  "  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  grace." 

From  this  review  of  the  spiritual  benefits  of  Christian 
Missions  on  the  churches  at  home,  we  repeat  the 
question  with  which  the  section  commenced,  in  the 
full  expectation  that  it  admits  but  of  one  reply — Had 
the  same  amount  of  effort  which  the  Missionary  object 
has  received  been  devoted  to  the  diffusion  of  piety  at 
home,  is  there  any  reason  to  conclude  that  our  country 
would  have  reaped  greater  advantage  than  it  is  now 
enjoying  from  the  reflex  influence  of  that  object  ?     Is 


264  EEFLEX  SPmiTUAL  BENEFITS 

it  likely  that  more  would  have  been  done  to  impress 
a  deep,  salutary,  and  general  conviction  of  the  infinite 
importance  of  the  Gospel ;  more  to  call  forth  the 
resources  and  multiply  the  agencies  of  Christian  use- 
fulness ;  more  to  counteract  the  worldliness  of  the 
Church,  and  to  give  enlargement  and  elevation  to  its 
views  and  affections  ;  more  to  illustrate  the  excellence, 
and  to  raise  the  standard,  of  Christian  charity  ;  more 
to  silence  the  irreligious  objector,  to  engage  the  inter- 
cessions of  the  faithful  in  the  behalf  of  the  world,  to 
fill  us  with  devout  dependence  and  holy  anticipation 
for  the  future,  and  to  prepare  the  Church  to  arise  and 
shine  as  the  light  of  the  world,  and  to  prove,  through 
God,  a  universal  blessing  ?  So  far  from  this,  we  venture 
to  affirm  that  not  only  would  less  have  been  done  in 
all  these  respects,  but  that,  humanly  speaking,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  influence  of  the  Missionary  cause, 
many  a  society  now  in  active  operation  expressly  for 
home,  would  never  have  come  into  existence ;  many 
a  heart  which  now  beats  high  with  a  hallowed  patriot- 
ism, would  have  been  cold  to  the  claims  of  home ; 
and  many  a  Christian  Church,  now  known  as  the  centre 
of  a  large  circumference  of  local  benevolence,  would 
have  been  comparatively  living  to  itself.  And,  indeed, 
what  is  all  this  but  saying,  in  effect,  that  the  history 
of  Christian  Missions  will  eventually  be  found  to 
furnish  a  grand  illustration  of  that  sublime  principle 
of  a  kingdom  founded  in  love,  that  "it  is  more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive." 


CHAPTER    IV 


ARGUMENT  DERIVED  FROM  THE  BENEFITS  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS 
FOR  THE  INCREASED  ACTIVITY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

If  the  Christian  Church  is  expressly  designed  to  embody 
and  diffuse  the  influence  of  the  Cross,  and  if  its  full 
efficiency  for  this  end,  depends,  under  God,  on  the 
entireness  of  its  consecration  to  this  office,  we  may 
expect  to  find  that  every  page  of  its  history  illustrates 
and  corroborates  the  fact.  Such  is  the  remark  with 
which  we  open  this  Second  Part.  But  as  the  nature 
and  limits  of  our  subject  forbade  us  to  open  the  volume 
of  ecclesiastical  history,  we  contented  ourselv^es  with 
remarking  generally,  that  the  period  of  the  first  and 
greatest  activity  of  the  Church  was  the  season  of  its 
greatest  prosperity  ;  that  the  subsequent  decline  of  its 
devotedness  was  the  decline  of  its  prosperity ;  and  that 
as  every  departure  of  the  Church  from  its  Missionary 
design  has  been  invariably  avenged,  so  every  return  to 
that  character  may  be  expected  to  be  divinely  acknow- 
ledged and  blessed.  Such  a  return,  in  part,  we  professed 
to  recognise  in  the  operations  and  aims  of  our  Protestant 
Missions.  And  the  subsequent  chapters  have  been  in- 
tended to  enable  us  to  show,  that,  as  far  as  their  history 
is  concerned,  it  may  be  made  most  clearly  and  impres- 
sively evident  that  every  step  in  return  to  the  aggres- 
sive design  of  the  Christian  Church  is  a  proportionate 
return  to  its  first  prosperity.  It  remains,  therefore,  that 
we  make  such  use  of  those  chapters  as  shall  tend  to 
23 


266  THE  BENEFITS  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS 

render  this  fact  apparent ;  thus  connecting  them  with 
the  former  Part,  and  strengthening  the  whole  by  enforc- 
ing the  additional  motive  supphed  to  entire  Christian 
consecration. 

I.  Now  this  may  be  done  by  showing,  first,  that  our 
^Missionary  success  has  been  fully  proportioned  to  our 
efforts.  Perhaps  the  only  persons  disposed  to  question 
this  proportion  of  success  will  be  found  among  those 
who  would  have  been  the  last  to  commence  those  efforts. 
For  it  is  characteristic  of  a  certain  class,  that  though 
they  would  never  have  originated  an  enterprise,  they  are 
among  the  earliest,  and  the  loudest  in  their  complaints  if 
it  is  not  speedily  crowned  with  complete  success.  No 
sooner  do  they  awake  from  the  slumber  of  doing  nothing, 
than  they  seem  to  expect  that  every  thing  will  rush  to 
their  aid,  and  are  mortified  at  finding  that  they  are 
doomed,  like  all  their  predecessors,  to  work  by  means, 
and  not  by  charms.  But  we  would  ask  such  persons, 
What  is  the  standard  by  which,  in  the  present  instance, 
they  regulate  their  expectations  of  success  ?  Is  it  by  the 
rapidity  with  which  the  Gospel  was  diffused  in  apostolic 
times  ?  But  surely  they  do  not  expect  this,  indepen- 
dently of  the  zeal,  self-denial,  and  earnest  supplications 
which  distinguished  those  times.  Or  would  they  say 
that  the  proportion  of  success  now,  is  much  less,  as  com- 
pared with  the  means  employed,  than  it  was  at  that 
lime,  even  allowing  for  the  present  diminution  of  zeal  ? 
But  how  is  the  rate  of  this  diminution  to  be  ascer- 
tained ?  and  yet,  until  it  is,  an  essential  element  of  the 
question  remains  undetermined.  The  truth  is,  that 
although  the  Church  of  late  has  begun  to  exhibit  a  spirit 
of  Missionary  activity — of  zeal  it  knows  comparatively 
little.  We  might  ask  the  persons  supposed,  for  instance, 
How  many  years,  or  rather  how  many  hours,  have  you 
given  to  this  object  of  your  professed  solicitude  .-*  To 
how  many  seasons  of  wrestling  in  prayer  with  God  ;  and 
to  how  many  acts  of  practical  self-denial  ;  and  to  how 
many  efforts  to  enkindle  the  zeal  of  others,  has  it  led  ? 


AN  ARGUMENT  FOR  INCREASED  ACTIVITY.  267 

Do  you  not  tbink  that  it  will  be  bigh  time  for  you  to 
complain  of  slender  success,  when  you  can  return  a  less 
self-condemnatory  answer  to  inquiries  such  as  these  ? 

Or,  would  they  regulate  their  expectations  of  success 
abroad,  by  the  standard  of  home  ?  But  we  have  shown 
in  a  preceding  chapter  that  much  of  our  domestic  pros- 
perity itself  is  ascribable,  under  God,  to  the  reflex 
influence  of  our  evangelical  operations  abroad.  Inde- 
pendently of  this,  however,  could  we  only  bring  together 
the  happy  results  of  those  operations  from  the  various 
parts  of  the  wide  field  over  which  they  are  scattered,  and 
place  them  beside  the  fruits  which  religion  has  reaped 
within  the  same  period  at  home — making,  of  course,  the 
necessary  allowance  for  the  vast  disproportion  of  means 
— we  should  see  that,  if  these  fruits  at  home  call  for 
ordinary  thankfulness,  the  results  abroad  demand  the 
loftiest  ascriptions  of  praise. 

Are  we  asked,  then,  to  sum  up  the  benefits  resuhing 
from  Christian  Missions  ?  Enumerate  them  we  can, 
and  have  ;  but  estimate  their  value  we  cannot.  We 
have  no  standard  by  which  to  rate  the  worth  of  even  their 
temporal,  much  less  of  their  spiritual  advantages.  We 
can  refer  the  inquirer  to  the  temporal  good  they  confer 
on  the  land  which  sends  them  forth ;  and  if  he  be  a 
patriot,  he  will  rejoice  to  hear  of  it.  But  unless  he  can 
furnish  us  with  an  instrument  for  determining  the  value 
of  literature  and  science  ;  of  correct  and  enlarged  views 
of  the  actual  condition  of  man  ;  of  our  own  national 
character ;  of  human  life  ;  of  commerce ;  and  of  safety 
and  supplies  for  our  shipping;  we  must  leave  the  precise 
worth  of  that  good  to  his  own  imagination  ;  for  in  all 
these  respects  have  they  been  eminently  useful.  Does 
he  ask  for  vouchers  ?  Let  him  consult  the  records  of 
learned  societies ;  the  voluntary  testimony  of  disinter- 
ested travellers;  the  *' Evidence  on  the  Aborigines;" 
the  incidental  as  well  as  direct  testimony  in  official 
reports  and  Government  returns,  to  all  of  which  we  have 
distinctly  referred.  Let  him  ask  the  crew  just  liberated 
from  cannibal  hands,  at  what  price  they  rate  the  value 


268  THE  BENEFITS  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS 

of  the  Missionary  influence  which  has  saved  them — and 
let  him  ascertain  how  many  crews  would  by  this  time 
have  been  sacrificed  but  for  that  influence ;  or  what 
would  have  been  the  amount  of  the  waste  of  European 
life  before  commerce  could  have  obtained  even  a  footing 
in  those  barbarous  regions  where,  owing  to  that  same 
influence,  it  now  finds  a  welcome  and  a  home  ?  Let 
him  do  this,  and  we  will  leave  him  to  his  own  conclu- 
sions respecting  its  value. 

Is  he  a  philanthropist  ?  We  can  take  him  into  the 
distant  Missionary  field,  and  point  him  to  happy  homes 
and  peaceful  villages  rising  amidst  wastes  where  lately 
man  roamed  restless  and  ferocious  as  the  beasts  with 
which  he  contested  for  supremacy ;  to  multitudes,  now 
diligently  busied  in  the  arts  of  civilized  life,  whose 
hands  were  but  yesterday  red  with  the  blood  of  their 
fellows  ;  to  thousands  of  children  and  adults,  trooping 
to  their  respective  schools,  where  a  short  time  ago,  all 
the  visible  signs  of  a  language  were  utterly  unknown ;  to 
organized  societies  and  the  ascendency  of  law,  where, 
but  recently,  to  be  lawless  was  reckoned  essential  to 
enjoyment,  and  to  kill  at  pleasure  the  highest  preroga- 
tive ; — to  sober,  honest,  highly  moralized  countries 
where,  lately,  rage  and  intemperance  revelled  at  will ; 
to  tribes  which  till  lately  never  met  but  for  mutual 
destruction,  but  whose  intercourse  now  consists  entirely 
in  the  reciprocation  of  benefits,  and  tokens  of  love  ;  to 
the  animalized  savage,  acting  the  man  ;  to  the  debased 
slave,  now  walking  at  large  as  an  heir  of  freedom ;  to 
degraded  woman,  raised  from  the  dust  and  restored  to 
be  the  partner  of  man  ;  to  hundreds  of  thousands  rescued 
from  the  curse  of  the  darkest  idolatry,  and  brought  into 
the  light  of  truth,  and  surrounded  with  the  means  of 
social  improvement  and  unending  happiness.  But  this 
is  not  enough.  Having  surveyed  the  happy  change,  let 
him  place  in  strong  imaginary  contrast  with  it  what 
would  probably  have  been  at  this  moment  the  actual 
state  of  all  those  human  beings  had  it  not  been  for 
Missionary  intervention.     Let  him  imagine  how  many 


AN  ARGUMENT  FOR  INCREASED  ACTIVITY.  269 

of  those  women  and  slaves  would  have  pined  and 
perished  under  brutal  oppression  ;  how  certainly  those 
implements  of  peace  would  all  have  been  in  request  as 
weapons  of  murder  and  war ;  how  many  of  those  child- 
ren would  have  been  immolated ;  how  many  of  those 
islands  would  have  been  depopulated,  and  of  those 
tribes  exterminated ;  and  then,  in  what  way  the 
wretched  survivors  would  most  likely  have  been  now  em- 
ployed. Let  him  then  say,  if  he  can,  what  is  the  value 
of  the  change  which  has  been  produced  ;  of  the  know- 
ledge by  which  all  that  ignorance  which  was  in  actual 
possession  has  been  displaced  ;  of  the  morality  and  free- 
dom by  which  all  that  vice,  bondage,  and  idolatry  have 
been  swept  away  ;  of  the  humanity  by  which  that  effu- 
sion of  human  blood  has  been  prevented,  and  all  those 
lives  been  saved  ;  and  of  those  moral  principles,  and 
social  habits,  by  which  all  that  has  yet  taken  place 
will  only  be  employed  as  means  of  improvement  for  all 
the  future.  Let  him  do  this,  and  we  will  tell  him  the 
worth  of  the  missionary  enterprise  to  the  cause  of 
philanthropy. 

Or,  is  he  who  urges  the  inquiry  a  Christian  ?  To  you, 
we  might  reply,  to  you  we  can  speak  of  spiritual  results. 
Not  that  you  value  the  temporal  benefits  less  than  the 
patriot  or  the  philanthropist,  for  you  are  both  ;  but  that 
you  value  the  spiritual  blessings  more.  Tell  us,  if  you 
can,  how  all  the  property  by  which  the  Missionary 
object  has  been  sustained,  would  have  been  employed  ; 
how  all  the  time  would  have  been  spent  which  has  been 
occupied  in  collecting,  pleading,  and  labouring  for  the 
object,  or  in  reading  and  hearing  of  it  ;  and  what  would 
have  been  the  character  of  all  the  myriads  of  thoughts 
and  feelings  which  would,  during  that  time,  have  left 
their  eternal  signature  on  the  mind,  had  that  object 
never  existed  to  engage  and  engross  it ;  for,  in  order  to 
compute  its  value,  it  is  necessary  to  know  the  evil  which 
it  has  been  the  means  of  preventing,  as  well  as  the  posi- 
tive good  which  it  has  been  instrumental  in  producing. 
Tell  us,  if  you  can,  the  value  of  that  knowledge  which 

23* 


270  THE   BENEFITS  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS 

maketh  wise  unto  salvation  ;  of  that  love  which  passeth 
knowledge ;  and  of  that  peace  which  passeth  all  under- 
standing— and  we  will  tell  you  the  worth  of  Missionary- 
instrumentality,  for  it  has  been  the  means  of  imparting 
all  these  to  thousands.  Tell  us,  in  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion of  our  common  Lord,  ''  What  shall  it  profit  a  man 
if  he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  yet  lose  his  own  soul  ?" 
— and  from  the  amount  of  that  fearful  loss  we  will  com- 
pute the  gain  of  Missionary  instrumentality,  for  it  has 
been  the  means  of  saving  the  souls  of  thousands.  Tell 
us,  or  ask  the  redeemed  in  glory  to  tell,  by  what  line  we 
can  sound  the  depths  of  that  pit  from  which  they  have 
escaped, — by  what  scale  we  can  take  the  height  of  the 
bliss  to  which  they  have  attained, — or  where  are  the 
balances  in  which  we  can  lay  an  eternal  weight  of  glory, 
and  we  will  tell  you  the  value  of  Missionary  labour  ;  for  it 
has  instrumentally  saved  thousands  from  hell,  and  pre- 
pared them  for  heaven.  Think  of  the  state  in  which 
the  Christian  Missionary  found  "  the  nations  of  them 
that  are  saved  ;" — of  that  horrid  system  composed  of  lies, 
and  crimes,  and  curses,  and  woes,  v;hich  he  found  in 
tyrannical  possession  ;  of  the  dreadful  aspect  with  which 
it  confronted  heaven  ;  of  its  mad  devotedness  to  the 
spirit  and  purposes  of  hell.  But  now,  see,  the  whole 
has  vanished.  The  first  house  they  build,  is  the  house 
of  God.  Almost  their  only  book,  is  the  Bible.  Among 
their  days,  they  now  number  and  keep  holy  the  Chris- 
tian Sabbath.  And  almost  the  only  form  of  society  they 
know  is  that  of  the  Christian  Church.  "  Behold,  the 
tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,'^  and  he  gi^aciously  dwells 
among  them.  If  you  could  not  have  looked  down,  with 
Balaam,  upon  the  vast  encampments  of  Israel  on  the 
plains  of  Moab,  without  emotions  of  delight  ;  if  you 
could  not  have  witnessed  the  scenes  of  Pentecost,  or 
have  ''  seen  the  grace  of  God  at  Antioch,"  without  being 
"^glad  ;"  how  can  you  adequately  express  your  gratitude 
and  joy  at  beholding  these  fruits  of  Christian  Missions  ? 
If  you  are  truly  conscious  of  Christian  compassion  ; 
think  of  all  the  bodily  sufferings,  the  moral  evils,  the 


AN  ARGUIVIENT  FOR  INCREASED  ACTIVITY.  271 

mental  anguish,  which  they  have  been  the  means  of 
preventing  or  removing  ;  of  the  hope,  and  peace,  and 
joy,  they  have  imparted  on  earth  ;  of  that  "  wrath  to 
come  "  from  which  they  have  instrumentally  snatched 
immortal  souls  ;  and  of  that  '^joy  of  your  Lord,"  to 
which  they  have  introduced  them  ;  and  you  will  fall 
down  afresh  and  bless  God  for  the  honour  which  he  has 
put  on  the  Missionary  enterprise.  If  you  are  sincerely 
"  jealous  for  the  Lord  of  hosts,"  think  of  all  the  instances 
in  which  they  have  been  the  means  of  converting  idol 
temples  into  places  of  Christian  worship  ;  of  disparag- 
ing idolatry  in  the  very  spot  where  for  ages  it  had 
reigned ;  and  of  calling  the  idolater  himself  to  join  in 
the  worship  of  the  only  living  and  true  God.  And 
think  what  honour  has,  in  every  such  instance,  been  put 
on  the  love  of  the  Father,  on  the  mediation  of  Christ, 
and  on  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ;  with  what  infi- 
nite complacency  they  have  contemplated  the  glorious 
change  ;  and  what  strains  of  serapliic  joy  it  has  called 
forth  among  the  angels  of  God  ;  and  you  will  gratefully 
acknowledge,  with  a  depth  of  conviction  which  perhaps 
you  never  felt  before,  that  our  Missionary  success  has 
immeasurably  exceeded  the  proportion  of  our  efforts. 

Yes,  exceeded  !  for  think,  how  recently  those  efibrts 
were  commenced.  The  generation  that  began  them  has 
not  yet  entirely  passed  away.  How  much  of  the  short 
time  which  has  since  elapsed  has  been  necessarily  con- 
sumed in  preparatory  work  ;  in  learning  the  languages 
of  the  people  visited ;  translating  the  Scriptures  into 
those  languages  ;  preparing  elementary  books  ;  instruct- 
ing the  natives  to  read  ;  in  erecting  the  requisite  machi- 
nery, and  bringing  it  into  working  order.  How  many 
alterations  and  improvements  have  been  suggested  ;  and 
how  much  we  had  to  learn  as  to  the  best  method  of 
conducting  Missionary  labours.  And  how  small  a  pro- 
portion of  the  Church  even  yet  is  zealously  engaged  in 
promoting  them.  Many  of  these  disheartening  considera- 
tions were  graciously  allowed  to  remain  hidden  from  the 
eyes  of  those  who  originated  the  Missionary  enterprise. 


272  THE  BENEFITS  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS 

But  could  we  ask  the  most  sanguine  among  them, 
whether,  notwithstanding,  the  event  had  equalled  their 
first  expectations  of  success  ;  and  could  we  show  them 
at  the  same  time  all  the  salutary  influence  which  that 
enterprise  has  reflected  on  the  cause  of  religion  at  home, 
we  should  hear  from  them  all  a  repetition  of  the  grateful 
language,  so  often  on  their  lips,  "What  halh  God  wrought! 
He  haih  done  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  we  asked 
or  thought!" 

Nor  have  our  Missionary  successes  exceeded  our 
expectations  in  a  single  respect  only.  They  have  been 
the  means  of  accomplishing  good  of  a  kind  which  we 
did  not  contemplate.  Who  thought,  for  instance,  of 
their  benefiting  the  slave  in  any  but  a  religious  respect  ? 
And  had  any  one  been  heard  to  pray  that  they  might 
lead  to  his  emancipation,  he  would  certainly  have  been 
silenced  for  his  indiscretion  or  his  presumption.  So 
remote  was  such  an  issue  from  our  views,  that  for  years 
our  Missionaries  rather  concealed  the  miseries  of  the 
slave,  lest,  by  displeasing  the  planter,  they  should  be 
denied  access  to  the  objects  of  their  solicitude.  And 
yet  to  Missionary  influence,  under  God,  the  abolition  of 
slavery  is  unquestionably  to  be  ascribed. 

Nor  has  the  sphere  of  this  influence  less  exceeded  our 
expectations  than  the  kind  of  good  which  it  has  effected. 
We  thought  only  of  sending  the  Gospel  to  heathen 
lands;  but  our  own  country^  as  we  have  seen,  has  been 
a  gainer  by  the  enterprise,  of  the  richest  blessings. 

And  as  in  the  sphere,  so  in  the  time  when  this  reflex 
influence  began  to  operate.  While  we  were  calculating 
on  the  good  to  result  to  others  in  a  coming  period,  we 
found  ourselves  in  actual  possession.  In  merely  design- 
ing to  bless,  we  ourselves  were  blessed.  The  benefit 
flowing  from  Christian  Missions  dates,  not  from  the 
first  year  of  their  existence,  nor  from  their  first  hour, 
but  from  their  earliest  moment.  From  that  auspicious 
moment  to  the  present,  they  have  been  discharging  on 
the  Churches,  generally,  showers  of  the  richest  influence. 
And  have  they  been  the  means  of  doing  so  much  good  .^ 


AN  ARGUMENT  FOR  E\ CREASED  ACTRITY.  273 

Why  did  we  not  begin  them  sooner  ?  and  why  are  we 
not  now  prosecuting  them  whh  greater  zeal  ? 

II.  We  may  expect  to  find  also  that  advantages 
have  flow^ed  from  our  returning  activity  which  nothing 
else  could  have  conferred.  And  the  reason  of  this  is 
sufficiently  obvious ; — the  planet  is  now  moving  in  its 
appointed  orbit  ;  the  Church  is  advancing  in  a  line  with 
the  purposes  of  Omnipotence,  and  in  harmony  w-Ith 
its  own  principles.  If,  before,  it  had  been  hampered 
with  forms,  customs,  and  corruptions,  at  every  effort 
which  it  now  makes  to  move,  some  portion  of  these  old 
incrustations  of  evil  fall  off;  a  desire  to  advance  aright, 
sends  it  to  consult  the  Word  of  God  ;  a  concern  to 
retrieve  its  past  indolence,  fills  it  with  a  zeal  that  calls 
on  "all  men  everyvvhere  to  repent;"  the  conversions 
which  ensue,  furnish  it  with  a  means  of  enlarging  its 
sphere  of  activity.  The  existence  of  all  this  both  proves 
the  presence  of  the  Divine  Spirit  in  the  midst  of  it,  and 
leads  it  to  earnest  cries  for  still  larger  efllislons  of  his 
influence  ;  and  thus,  by  action  and  reaction,  an  increase 
of  its  prosperity  leads  to  Importunate  prayer  for  larger 
impartations  of  the  Spirit,  and  larger  impartations  of 
the  Spirit  necessarily  produce  an  increase  of  Divine 
prosperity. 

Let  us  look  at  the  Christians  and  Christian  denomi- 
nations of  Britain  at  present ;  and  say,  what  but  their 
activity  for  God,  and  the  salutary  effects  of  that  activity 
on  themselves,  constitute  the  sign  and  means  of  their 
visible  prosperity  ?  Take  away  this,  and  what  single 
feature  would  remain  on  which  the  Spiritual  eye  could 
rest  with  pleasure  ?  Their  orthodoxy  ?  That  would 
be  their  condemnation  ;  for,  if  their  creed  be  scrip- 
tural, activity  and  zeal  for  God  are  necessary,  if  only 
to  make  them  consistent  with  themselves.  The  num- 
bers they  include  ?  The  world  outnumbers  them  ;  and 
it  is  only  by  their  aggressive  activity,  blessed  by  God, 
that  they  can  hope  to  keep  their  disproportion  from 
increasing.     Their  llberahty .?     Apart  from  this  Chris- 


274  THE  BENEFITS  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS 

tian  activity,  where  would  be  the  calls  on  that  liber- 
ality ?  It  is  this  which  brings  it  into  exercise,  and 
by  exercise  augments  it.  Their  union  with  each  other  ? 
This  activity  for  enlarging  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is 
almost  the  only  bond  which,  at  present,  does  unite 
them ;  take  away  this,  and  nearly  the  last  ligament 
of  their  visible  union  would  be  snapped.  Their  spirit 
of  prayer  ?  That  has  been  called  into  exercise  almost 
entirely  by  means  of  their  Christian  activity  ;  for, 
feeling  the  utter  insufficiency  of  their  own  endeavours, 
they  have  earnestly  entreated  God  to  make  bare  his 
arm  in  their  behalf. 

From  our  returning  activity,  then,  in  the  cause  of 
human  salvation,  advantages  have  resulted  which  no- 
thing else  could  have  conferred.  Amidst  scenes  of  po- 
litical strife,  it  has  brought  to  us  visions  of  a  kingdom 
which  is  not  of  this  world.  Amidst  scenes  of  eccle- 
siastical discord,  it  has  provided  one  standard  around 
which  all  can  rally  against  the  common  foe.  Amidst 
the  icy  selfishness  of  the  world  around,  it  has  called 
forth  warm  streams  of  Christian  liberality.  It  has 
given  employment  to  energies  which  would  otherwise 
have  been  wasted  in  the  arena  of  angry  controversy. 
It  has  been  the  means  of  originating  various  institu- 
tions, which  are  destined  to  hasten  llie  great  consum- 
mation ;  and  of  calling  into  existence  specimens  of 
Christian  excellence  and  heroism,  of  which  the  world 
is  not  worthy.  To  the  visible  Church  it  has  given  a 
heart,  stirred  its  deepest  sympathies  for  the  world, 
brought  considerable  accessions  to  its  numbers,  im- 
parted additional  interest  to  its  services,  enlivened  its 
piety,  enlarged  its  views,  and  brightened  its  visions 
of  the  reign  of  Christ.  It  has  been  the  means  of  dis- 
arming infidelity  of  some  of  its  most  specious  ob- 
jections, illustrated  afresh  the  divinity  of  the  Gospel, 
increased  the  confidence  of  Christians  in  its  ultimate 
triumphs,  and  furnished  them  with  some  of  the  most 
remarkable  occasions  for  ascribing  glory  to  God.  Many 
of  them  it  has  filled  with  a  sense  of  self-dissatisfactionj 


AN  ARGUMENT  FOR  INCREASED  ACTIVITY.  275 

of  Utter  dependence  on  God,  of  aching  want  and 
craving  desire  for  something  more  and  something  better 
for  the  Church  than  it  yet  possesses  ;  so  that  their 
loudest  prayers  are  prayers  for  the  promised  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  From  all  of  which  we  infer,  that 
a  full  return  in  faith  and  prayer  to  the  aggressive  design 
of  the  Christian  Church,  would  be  a  full  return  to  its 
original  prosperity. 

III.  But  this  is  further  apparent,  and  the  whole  of 
this  second  Part  connects  itself  with  the  former  by  the 
important  fact  that  the  history  which  it  details  of  the 
Missionary  enterprise,  remarkably  illustrates  every  par- 
ticular there  advanced  on  the  theory  of  Christian 
influence.  This,  indeed,  might  have  been  expected  ; 
for  it  is  only  saying  that  the  same  principles  when  put 
into  operation  under  the  same  circumstances,  produce 
the  same  effects.  Accordingly,  the  records  of  modern 
Missions  might  easily  be  made  to  furnish  the  most 
striking  comment  on  the  "  Acts  of  the  Apostles,"  and 
to  illustrate  every  principle  of  the  Missionary  constitu- 
tion of  the  Church. 

How  strikingly  do  they  exemplify  at  once  the  at- 
tractive and  the  expansive  power  of  the  Cross  of 
Christ  !  Here  is  a  humble  individual,  a  Carey  or  a 
Mills,  a  Hall  or  an  Egede,  meditating  in  solitude  an 
attempt  to  convert  the  heathen.  Never  surely  was 
project  more  remote  from  the  sphere  of  worldly  calcu- 
lation. It  is  almost  beyond  the  range  even  of  ordinary 
Christian  sympathy.  What  is  to  account  for  it  ?  Has 
some  personal  command,  or  supernatural  visitation, 
called  him  by  name  to  undertake  the  work  ?  No,  the 
love  of  Christ  alone  constrains  him  ;  and  the  known 
requirements  of  Christianity  are  his  authority.  The 
ignorant  may  pity  him  as  foolish,  the  irreligious  may 
pronounce  him  mad,  and  even  his  professed  fellow 
Christians  may  deem  him  rash  and  zealous  overmuch. 
But  he  is  simply  "thus  judging,"  that  if  the  world 
is  perishing,  and  if  Christ  died  for  its  redemption,  he, 


276  THE  BENEFITS  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS 

knowing  the  fact,  is  bound  to  proclaim  it.  He  ''cannot 
but  speak  the  things  which  he  has  seen  and  heard." 

Months,  perhaps  years,  elapse,  but  still  the  fire  of 
his  purpose  burns  on  with  unabated  strength.  Re- 
flection and  prayer  only  increase  its  ardour :  at  length, 
he  finds  with  untold  delight  that,  like  the  caloric  dif- 
fused through  physical  substances,  the  principle  of 
benevolence  lying  dormant  in  the  heart  of  some  with 
whom  he  holds  communion,  is  beginning  to  disengage 
by  collision,  and  to  ignite  into  a  flame  of  sympathetic 
Christian  zeal.  They  join  him  in  prayer,  aid  his 
resources,  and  urge  him  to  depart  "far  hence  among  the 
Gentiles." 

If  we  follow  him,  after  a  while,  to  the  scene  of  his 
Missionary  labours,  what  is  the  spectacle  we  behold  ? 
To  an  uninstructed  observer  we  might  say,  See  you 
those  savages  sitting,  mourning,  and  melting  around 
him  ?  he  is  telling  them  the  tale  of  the  Cross.  Do 
you  remark  how  the  stolid  countenances  of  others  are 
awakening  into  intelligence,  and  their  very  attitudes 
indicating  an  anxiety  to  understand  ?  "  Jesus  Christ 
has  been  evidently  set  forth  crucified  among  them."  Do 
you  observe  how  others  are  busily  occupied  in  building 
around  ? — Blessed  Saviour,  thou  hast  triumphed  ;  thou 
art  drawing  all  men  unto  thee ! — for,  in  eflect,  they 
are  building  around  the  Cross  !  Abandoning  their  idols 
and  their  wandering  habits,  they  have  found  the  true 
centre  of  attraction,  and  rejoice  to  be  near  it.  ''It 
was  when  I  discoursed  to  the  multitude,"  says  Brainerd, 
"  on  that  sacred  passage,  'yet  it  pleased  the  Lord  to 
bruise  him,'  that  the  word  was  attended  with  a  resistless 
power  ;  many  hundreds  in  that  great  assembly,  con- 
sisting of  three  or  four  thousand,  were  much  aflected, 
so  that  there  was  a  very  great  mourning  like  to  the 
mourning  of  Hadadrimmon."  "How  was  that?"  said 
the  afi^ected  Kaiarnac,  when,  after  the  "rationalizing 
process"  had  long  been  tried  on  the  Greenlanders  in 
vain,  the  history  of  our  Lord's  sufl^erings  was  at  length 
read  to  them — "  How  was  that  ?  tell  me  that  once 
more,  for  I  would  fain  be  saved  too." 


AN  ARGUMENT  FOR  INCREASED  ACTIVITY.  277 

But  if  the  Gospel  of  Christ  possesses  this  power  of 
subduing  the  heart  to  its  own  expansive  purposes,  ice 
may  expect  to  see  even  the  converted  savage  attempting 
the  conversion  of  those  around  him.  Nor  do  we  expect 
this  in  vain.  Kairnac  himself  is  an  illustration  in 
point.  "His  family,  consisting  of  nine  persons,  were 
the  first  that  were  brought  under  conviction  by  his 
words  and  conduct ;  and  before  the  month  was  over, 
three  large  families  of  natives  came,  with  all  their 
effects,  and  pitched  their  tents  beside  the  dwellings  of 
the  Moravians."*  Thus  the  Gospel  extends  its  influence 
from  the  individual  to  the  family,  and  from  the  family 
to  the  neighbourhood. 

"  The  natives,"  writes  a  Missionary  in  New  Zealand, 
•'are  beginning  to  itinerate  among  their  countrymen 
to  preach  the  Gospel.  Surely  good  times  are  near 
at  hand  for  this  country.  The  desire  which  some  of 
the  young  men  manifest  for  the  salvation  of  the  souls 
of  their  countrymen  evidently  points  out  the  nature 
of  the  religion  which  they  profess. "f  In  one  station 
we  behold  a  vast  assembly  of  native  converts  addressed 
by  Christian  chiefs  and  others,  and  urged  by  compassion 
for  "  lost  souls,"  and  by  gratitude  for  their  own  sal- 
vation, to  embark  in  a  Missionary  enterprise  among 
the  idolaters  beyond.  In  another  we  hear  a  venerable 
chief  lamenting  in  the  midst  of  his  people  that  he 
is  not  young  enough  to  go  on  such  an  errand  of  mercy  ; 
and  praying  that  the  churches  of  the  station  might 
be  honoured  to  "  supply  brethren  to  bear  the  Gospel 
to  more  populous  lands."  Elsewhere,  we  hear  the 
chief  of  one  island,  who  has  sailed  far  to  address  the 
chiefs  of  another,  exclaiming  at  the  close  of  his  earnest 
appeal,  "  Grasp  with  a  firm  hold  the  word  of  Jehovah  ; 
for  this  alone  can  make  you  a  peaceable  and  happy 
people.  I  should  have  died  a  savage,  had  it  not  been 
for   the  Gospel."     And   there,   another   under   similar 


*  Carne,  vol.  i.  p.  237, 

t  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  pp.  121,  122. 

24 


278  THE  BENEFITS  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS 

circumstances,  exclaiming,  as  he  steps  forward,  and 
seizes  the  heathen  chief  by  the  hand,  "  Rise,  brother, 
tear  off  the  garb  of  Satan,  and  become  a  man  of  God." 

The  inhabitants  of  eight  islands,  says  one  of  the 
witnesses  in  the  "  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,"  were 
entirely   converted    to   Christianity    by    the    agency   of 

native   Missionaries We   have  about  sixty  or 

seventy,  and  that  number  is  increasing ;  because, 
wherever  the  Gospel  is  attended  with  beneficial  effects, 
a    new    agency   is   created    there  for   its   still  further 

propagation The  original  station  was  only  one 

island,  that  of  Tahiti  ;  and  the  knowledge  of  (Jhris- 
tianity  was  conveyed  to  the  islands  where  the  American 
Missionaries  are,  and  to  the  Friendly  Islands,  by  native 
agency.  We  have  forty  or  fifty  islands  under  in- 
struction at  the  present  time  by  native  agency. 

What  a  strong  scriptural  illustration  of  the  expansive 
power  of  the  Gospel  is  here  !  "  The  Spirit  and  the 
bride  say,  Come."  Every  church  regards  itself  as  a 
Missionary  Society.  Some  of  their  first  property  was 
sent  home  to  aid  the  cause  of  Missions.  Their  best 
men  are  called  forth  and  devoted  to  the  Missionary 
office.  With  a  simplicity  and  singleness  of  purpose 
worthy  of  apostolic  times,  they  go  forth,  often  at  the 
imminent  hazard  of  their  lives,  to  proclaim  salvation 
to  remoter  islands.  And  wherever  they  have  proceeded 
hitherto,  unexampled  success  has  attended  their  labours, 
"the  Lord  working  with  them."  And  thus  the  distant 
field  of  Missionary  labour  presents  at  this  moment 
the  noble  spectacle  of  a  vast  sphere  in  Christian  ac- 
tivity, not  for  itself  merely,  but  for  an  ever-enlarging 
circumference  beyond. 

IV.  Now  what  a  powerful  motive  should  all  this 
supply  to  the  increase  of  our  Missionary  zeal.  If  every 
event  of  Providence  has  a  voice  and  a  lesson,  the  only 
interpretation  we  can  give  to  the  language  uttered  by 
our  Missionary  success,  is  that  of  one  unbroken  call 
to  greater  diligence.  After  making  the  preceding 
circuit   of  the    Missionary  field,   and    taking   a  survey 


AN  ARGUMENT  FOR  INCREASED  ACTIVnT.  279 

of  the  results  of  our  past  attempts,  can  we  return 
into  the  presence  of  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  without 
feehng  how  justly  he  might  say  to  us,  as  he  did  to 
his  disciples  at  the  close  of  their  first  intineracy, 
"Lacked  ye  anything?"  and  how  confidently  he  might 
await  the  same  reply,  "Nothing,  Lord."  You  were 
ignorant,  he  might  continue  to  say,  and  one  of  the 
direct  tendencies  of  my  dispensations  towards  you 
has  been  to  instruct  you  in  the  heavenly  art  of  doing 
good.  You  were  fearful  and  unbelieving;  and  I  re- 
buked your  doubts,  not  in  judgment,  but  by  affording 
you  unexpected  disclosures  of  my  resources  and  my 
grace.  You  had  enemies ;  many  of  them  exist  no 
longer  :  others  I  have  changed  into  friends ;  and  of 
those  that  remain  I  jiave  taught  you  to  believe  that 
"their  end  draweth  nigh."  From  many  a  scene  of 
apparently  fruitless  labour  you  were  inclined  to  with- 
draw dejected  ;  but  I  gave  you  grace  to  persevere, 
and  heaven  heard  the  result  in  your  grateful  shouts 
of  rejoicing  triumph. 

Where  have  you  laboured  in  vain  ?  Your  own 
recorded  testimony  is,  that  "success,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, has  invariably  attended  your  Missionary  exertions 
among  the  heathen."*  Name  an  instance,  if  you  can, 
in  which  an  attempt  to  introduce  the  Gospel  among 
a  barbarous  people,  and  perseverance  in  the  use  of 
suitable  means,  have  not  been  attended  with  a  measure 
of  success.  Even  where  that  success  has  been  appa- 
rently delayed,  was  it  not  as  much,  if  not  more, 
eventually,  than  as  if  it  had  been  early  and  gradually 
sent  ?  Has  not  the  scene  of  your  greatest  dejection 
repeatedly  proved  the  occasion  of  your  greatest  triumph  ? 
And  as  to  the  tendency  of  your  Missionary  activity 
to  benefit  yourselves,  say  by  what  other  process  you 
can  suppose  your  advantage  would  have  been  greater  ? 
By  what  other  means  could  you  have  equally  learned 
the  secret  of  mutual  Christian  influence ;  of  the  stimu- 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  132. 


280  THE  BENEFITS  OF  CHEISTIAN  MISSIONS 

lating  effect  of  individual  devotedness  upon  a  church, 
and  of  one  church  upon  another,  and  of  one  denomi- 
nation upon  every  other  part  of  the  Christian  com- 
munity; the  great  fact  that  for  a  single  Christian 
to  move  in  my  service  is  sure  eventually  to  move  the 
entire  Church,  and  to  hasten  the  conversion  of  the 
world  ?  Or  by  what  other  means  could  I  have  equally 
illustrated  the  fact  that  my  Church  is  constituted 
expressly  for  this  end,  and  that  its  welfare  depends 
on  its  becoming  the  channel  of  my  Spirit  to  the  world, 
and  of  thus  answering  the  great  relative  object  of 
its  existence  ? 

But  if  so  many  ends  have  been  answered,  and  so 
much  good  has  been  accomplished  by  the  comparatively 
slender  amount  of  instrumentality  which  you  have 
already  put  into  motion,  what  might  you  not  have 
been  the  means  of  effecting,  had  your  activity  but 
equalled  your  resources  ?  For  though  my  sovereignty 
is  at  hberty  to  act  as  independently  as  I  please,  both 
of  your  instrumentality,  and  of  my  own  promises, 
in  exceeding  your  just  expectations ;  and  though,  in 
this  sense,  I  will  still  be  "found  of  them  that  sought 
me  not,"  yet  as  you  have  never  asked  but  I  have 
answered,  never  laboured  but  I  have  blessed,  think 
how  many  a  region  still  sitting  in  darkness  might  have 
been  added  to  those  which  you  have  been  the  means 
of  bringing  into  marvellous  light ! 

And  now,  when  will  you  be  satisfied  with  success  ? 
You  say  that  you  are  grateful  for  the  past,  but  re- 
member that  whatever  you  may  profess,  the  amount 
of  your  present  activity  describes  the  exact  degree 
of  your  gratitude.  You  profess  to  recognize  a  con- 
nexion and  a  proportion  between  the  measure  of  your 
instrumentality  and  your  success  ;  are  you  then  already 
satisfied  with  the  good  effected,  that  you  do  not  increase 
you  Christian  activity  ?  This  you  profess  to  be  quite 
impossible :  nothing,  you  avow,  can  ever  arrest  your 
activity,  or  satisfy  your  desires,  till  my  Gospel  has 
leavened   the   heart   of  humanity,    and   its   laws   have 


AN  AKGUMENT  FOR  INCREASED  AC  TI\1TY.  28 1 

become  interwoven  with  every  human  government ;  till 
wars  have  ceased  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  ;  a  sorrowing 
world  has  dried  up  its  tears  ;  till  the  reign  of  sin 
be  ended,  and  one  universal  transporting  song  ascend 
from  every  land  in  honour  of  Him  by  whom  the  victory 
is  achieved.  Why  then  do  you  not  aim  at  greater 
proportion  between  the  splendour  of  your  expectations 
and  the  measure  of  your  endeavours  ?  I  am  not 
exhausted  with  imparting ;  are  you  weary  with  re- 
ceiving ?  As  yet  you  have  only  received  the  first- 
fruits  ;  when  will  you  be  prepared  for  the  harvest? 
I  have  only  at  present  begun  to  bless;  but  "  prove 
me  now  herewith,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  if  I  will 
not  open  you  the  w^indows  of  heaven,  and  pour  you 
out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to  re- 
ceive it.  And  I  will  rebuke  the  devourer  for  your 
sakes,  and  he  shall  not  destroy  the  fruits  of  your  ground  ; 
neither  shall  your  vine  cast  her  fruit  before  the  time  in 
the  field,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  And  all  nations  shall 
call  you  blessed  ;  for  ye  shall  be  a  delightsome  land, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts." 


24* 


PART  III 


ENCOURAGEMENTS   OF  CHRISTIANS   TO  PROSECUTE 
THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE. 


As  far  as  human  agency  is  concerned  in  the  eventual 
triumph  of  the  Gospel,  he  who  despairs  of  that  tri- 
umph, is  doing  all  he  can  to  prevent  it  ;  and  he  who 
confidently  and  consistently  expects  it,  is  naaterially 
contributing  to  promote  it.  While  it  is  admitted 
therefore  as  an  axiom  in  Christian  morals,  that  encou- 
ragements to  duty  do  not  form  the  ground  of  our 
obedience,  yet  when  such  encouragements  are  gra- 
ciously afforded,  not  to  regard  them  would  be  sullen 
ingratitude  against  God,  and  not  to  feel  them  is  to 
remain  insensible  to  some  of  the  most  cheering  and 
powerful  inducements  to  increased  activity.  Encou- 
ragements to  Missionary  labour,  and  to  anticipate  the 
final  success  of  that  labour,  he  around  us  on  every  side. 
In  collecting  and  presenting  some  of  the  more  obvious 
among  them  to  Christian  attention,  it  may  contribute  to 
clearness,  and  sufficiently  answer  our  present  object, 
if  we  consider  them  in  succession,  as  historical,  po- 
litical, moral,  ecclesiastical,  and  evangelical;  after 
which  we  shall  mark  their  relation  to  the  preceding  parts, 
and  their  practical  application. 


284  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

SECTION  I. 

ENCOUKAGEMENT    FROM    HISTORY. 

The  first  encouragement  to  Missionary  labour  to  which 
we  invite  attention,  is  that  which  is  derivable  from 
the  history  of  the  propagation  of  Christianity.  In 
attempting  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel  we  are  not 
engaged  in  a  novel  experiment ;  nor  is  the  Gospel 
itself  a  system  of  truth  hitherto  untried.  It  has  a 
long  and  an  eventful  history.  In  order  to  estimate 
its  prospects  for  the  future,  then,  let  us  question  that 
history  concerning  the  past ;  for  if  it  shall  appear  that 
Christianity,  regarded  merely  as  one  form  of  religion 
among  many, /has  vanquished  every  foe  which  it  has 
encountered,  passed  through  every  ordeal  to  which  it 
is  ever  likely  to  be  subjected,  and  is  still  vigorous  and 
aggressive,  even  the  sceptic  must  admit  that,  whether 
its  success  be  owing  to  supernatural  aid,  to  intrinsic 
excellence,  or  to  both,  its  friends  have  strong  encour- 
agement to  hope  for  its  continued  progress. 

Now  the  first  question  naturally  arising  in  the  mind 
of  an  inquirer  on  this  subject  would  be — has  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Bible  triumphed  already  ?  Open  the 
first  pages  of  its  history,  we  reply,  and  you  will  find 
that  its  early  history  is  a  history  of  its  triumphs.  It 
matters  not  whether  that  history  be  written  by  an 
Origen  or  a  Pliny,  an  Eusebius  or  a  Tacitus,  a  Ter- 
tullian  or  a  Gibbon — friends  and  foes  alike  bear  tes- 
timony to  the  fact  that  during  its  early  ages  the  Gospel 
not  merely  maintained  its  ground,  but  extended  its 
conquests  on  every  hand  with  a  rapidity  and  a  vigour 
which  left  numbers  of  its  enemies  no  alternative  but 
to  ascribe  it  to  the  finger  of  God.  '  Perhaps,  however, 
the  advent  of  Christianity  took  place  at  a  time  when 
the  prevailing  systems  of  religion  were  of  a  kind  less 
hostile  to  innovation  than  those  which  exist  at  present ; 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  285 

or  perhaps,  the  character  of  the  Gospel  had  a  tendency 
to  coalesce  with  them,  and  accept  of  their  support.'  So 
far  from  this  the  Gospel  was  utterly  unlike  every  system 
which  the  mind  of  man  had  imagined  ;  nor  would  it 
accept  the  remotest  alliance  with  any,  but  proclaimed 
a  war  of  extermination  against  them  all  ;  and  yet  it  tri- 
umphed. It  found  every  human  heart  a  temple  filled 
with  the  W'Orship  of  some  idol  god,  and  the  world  a 
Pantheon,  crowded  with  the  long  accumulated  images 
and  services  of  an  ancient  idolatry  ;  and  yet  it  triumphed. 
Never,  perhaps,  had  the  prevailing  systems  presented 
a  more  threatening  front  to  the  pretensions  of  any 
new  and  rival  religion  than  at  that  period  ;  this  the 
ages  of  persecution  which  followed  sufficiently  testified  : 
but  not  only  did  the  Gospel  denounce  tliem^  it  went 
even  deeper,  and  proclaimed  eternal  war  against  the 
very  propensities  and  principles  of  human  nature  which 
had  given  them  birth  ;  and  yet  it  triumphed.  '  But 
the  Gospel  may  have  owed  its  early  successes  to  an 
instrumentality  of  a  kind  so  efficient  as  it  may  never 
possess  again.'  As  far  as  that  agency  was  miraculous, 
it  was  doubtless  demonstrative  of  the  truth  of  the 
Gospel  ;  but  the  means  employed  for  its  diffusion  were 
simply  '■'  the  foolishness  of  preaching."  No  purple 
clothed  it,  no  orators  pleaded  its  cause,  no  secret  bribes 
procured  it  access  to  the  ear  of  the  great,  no  army 
hewed  for  it  a  path  ;  and  yet  it  triumphed.  The 
apparent  impotence  and  meanness  of  its  agents  form- 
ed one  of  the  great  objections  of  the  day  against  the 
divinity  of  its  origin,  and  the  possibility  of  its  success  ; 
and  yet  it  triumphed.  And  one  of  the  reasons  why 
such  an  instrumentality  was  employed  doubtless  was, 
that  the  Church  might  never,  on  this  ground,  have  cause 
to  despond  ;  that  it  might  feel  that  as  long  as  it  can 
furnish  but  "  twelve  fishermen,"  it  possesses  an  in- 
strumentality equal,  under  God,  to  repeat  the  triumphs 
of  its  primitive  days. 

'  But  it  may  be  that  Christianity  triumphed   only  in 
one  direction,  and   vanquished  only  a   single   kind   of 


286  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

opposition.'  It  evaded  no  difficulty,  turned  aside  from 
no  foe.  It  went  in  search  of  "  Satan's  seat."  Not 
a  people  here  and  there  merely,  but  many  nations,  and 
these  in  every  stage  of  civilization,  and  exhibiting  almost 
every  variety  of  political  and  moral  condition,  aban- 
doned their  idolatries,  and  embraced  the  Christian 
name. 

'  But  many  a  system  which  has  prospered  in  its  early 
days,  and  which  has  even  gained  energy  by  conflict,  has 
no  sooner  been  seated  in  the  place  of  ease  and  power 
than  it  has  fallen  before  the  first  vigorous  assault  which 
it  was  called  to  sustain.  One  would  like  to  see  there- 
fore whether  or  not  Christendom  could  survive  such 
an  encounter.'  The  irruption  of  the  Gothic  and 
Slavic  nations  into  the  Roman  empire,  furnished  the 
means  of  the  experiment  ;  and  what  was  the  effect  ? 
The  conversion  of  these  northern  barbarians  had  been 
before  but  imperfectly  attempted,  yet  now  when  they 
came  to  vanquish  the  civilized  world,  the  second  in- 
crease of  Christianity  took  place  by  their  nominal  adop- 
tion of  the  faith.  And  thus  the  very  event  which 
had  threatened  Christendom  with  irreparable  ruin, 
proved  the  second  era  of  its  enlargement. 

'  In  this  instance,  however,  the  encounter  of  Chris- 
tianity was  only  with  barbarian  force.  What,  if  the 
antagonist  had  been  armed  with  knowledge,  with  elastic 
mind,  and  intellectual  might  .'^'  The  supposition  has 
been  realized  ;  realized  under  circumstances  the  most 
unfavorable  for  Christianity  ;  and  yet  it  triumphed. 
At  the  time  when  ancient  literature  arose  from  the 
sleep  of  ages  like  a  giant  refreshed  ;  when  the  newly 
created  press  gave  wings  to  thought ;  when  philosophy 
rose  like  a  sun  on  the  old  world,  and  science  dis- 
covered a  new  world ;  and  when  mind  in  consequence 
received  an  impulse  which  threatened  with  extinction 
whatever  was  not  true  and  good,  Christianity  was 
found  overlaid  and  oppressed  with  centuries  of  cor- 
ruption. But  with  an  energy  of  self-renovating  power 
which  could  have  only  come  from  God,  it  arose  with 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  287 

the  occasion,  and,  so  far  from  avoiding,  actually  called 
to  its  side,  and  employed  in  its  service,  all  those  ele- 
ments of  greatness  which  had  just  come  into  existence. 
Ancient  literature  held  its  rekindled  torch  to  the 
translation  of  the  Bible ;  the  press  propagated  it  in 
all  directions  :  an  inductive  philosophy  has  ever  since 
been  illustrating  its  truths,  and  augmenting  its  evidence  ; 
and  from  parts  of  that  new  world  which  Christianity 
Vi'as  the  first  to  colonize,  it  is  now  meditating  the  con- 
version of  mankind. 

'  Still  the  test  might  have  been  more  severe.  Chris- 
tianity might  have  remained  unreformed,  or  the  slum- 
ber of  security  might  have  come  over  it  after  the 
Reformation,  while  its  enemies  were  secretly  forging 
their  weapons,  and  gradually  preparing  for  its  sudden 
destruction  ;  what  would  have  been  the  issue  of  such 
an  onset?'  The  question  is  answered;  the  onset  was 
made,  and  yet  the  cause  of  the  Gospel  triumphed. 
The  Neological  Pantheism  of  Spinoza  ;  the  Casuistic 
Doubts  of  Bayle ;  the  Phenomenonism  of  Hume  ; 
Kant  and  Transcendental  Scepticism  ;  the  Ridicule  of 
Voltaire ;  the  Sentimental  Deism  of  Rousseau  ;  the 
Historical  Infidelity  of  Gibbon  ;  all  the  agents  and 
hosts  of  evil  fell  on  the  cause  of  Truth  in  quick  suc- 
cession, and  in  the  hour  of  its  faintness,  and  felt  secure 
of  its  utter  extinction.  Political  convulsions  too,  at 
the  same  time,  seemed  to  conspire  and  make  way  for 
the  most  fearful  changes.  The  revolutionized  aspect 
of  the  social  system  at  this  moment,  testifies  to 
the  violence  of  that  moral  deluge  by  which  mountains, 
were  brought  down,  and  valleys  raised,  and  the 
organic  structure  of  Christendom  changed.  Yet  not 
only  did  Christianity  survive  the  conflict;  the  hour 
of  its  crisis  was  the  season  of  its  greatest  triumph. 
While  maintaining  its  ground  with  apparent  difiiculty 
at  home,  it  was  actually  acquiring  new  territories 
abroad.  At  the  moment  when  its  enemies  supposed 
that  its  doom  was  sealed,  it  was  seen  as  a  mighty  angel 
flying  through  the   midst  of  heaven,  and  preaching  tha 


288  ENCOURAGEIVIENTS  TO  PEOSECUTE 

everlasting  Gospel  to  all  nations.  The  day  of  its 
fiercest  trial,  is  the  day  from  which  it  dates  its  modern 
Missionary  enterprise. 

Now  are  we  not  encouraged  from  this  review  of  the 
past  to  augar  hopefully  of  the  future  ?  Shall  not  the 
weapon  which  has  never  failed  be  regarded  by  us 
with  greater  confidence  than  one  which  has  never  been 
tried  ?  Is  it  too  much  to  expect  that  the  Gospel 
which  has  triumphed  so  long  and  so  gloriously  will 
continue  to  triumph  still  ?  We  pass  to  the  field  of 
Missionary  efibrt  over  the  wrecks  of  former  systems  of 
idolatry,  and  through  scenes  of  early  Gospel  triumph, 
?ind  shall  we  not  feel  the  inspiration  of  the  scene  .'* 
Where  now  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians  ?  Where  now 
are  Jupiter  and  the  gods  of  Greece  ?  and  where  the 
whole  Pantheon  of  Rome  ?  The  fit's!  Christians  testi- 
fied against  them,  and  they  vanished.  Missionaries  of 
Christ  came  to  Britain  ;  and  where  now  are  Woden 
and  all  the  Saxon  gods  ;  Hessus,  and  all  the  [more 
ancient  and  sanguinary  rites  of  the  Druids  ?  The  idols 
which  we  now  assail  in  other  lands  have  been  long  since 
routed,  and  the  sword  we  wield  routed  them.  The 
gods  of  India  are  the  same,  under  different  names, 
which  Italy  and  Greece  adored  ;  the  sword  of  the  Lord 
chased  them  from  the  west,  and  shall  it  do  less  in  the 
east  ?  remembering  "the  years  of  the  right  hand  of  the 
Most  High,"  let  us  "  thank  God  and  take  courage." 


SECTION  II. 

MISSIONARY   ENCOURAGEMENT   ARISING   FROM   THE    POLITICAL   ASPECT 
OF    THE    WORLD. 

A  second  ground  of  Missionary  encouragement,  and 
one  deserving  peculiar  attention,  may  be  denominated 
political,  for  it  respects  the  external  relations  of  Chris- 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  289 

tendom,  and  especially  of  reformed  Christendom,  to  the 
rest  of  the  world.  If  the  social  condition  of  states  and 
their  aspects  towards  each  other,  are  to  possess  any 
weight  in  our  estimate  of  the  Missionary  cause,  we  may 
venture  to  aflirm,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  conceive 
of  their  occupying  any  position  relative  to  that  cause 
more  encouraging  than  that  which  they  now  present. 

1.  For  first,  all  the  rest  of  the  globe  appears  to  be 
placed,  by  Providence,  at  the  disposal  of  Christendom. 
This  will  appear  from  a  slight  degree  of  attention  to 
the  following  considerations. — That  which  classifies  and 
distributes  the  population  of  the  earth  is,  not  geogra- 
phical lines,  but  religion.  This  is  the  centre  around 
which  humanity  collects,  and  by  which  it  is  civilized  and 
formed  into  masses  ;  and  hence  the  savage  tribes,  having 
nothing  deserving  the  name  of  religion,  know  nothing 
of  civilization  or  of  union  among  themselves.  Now  if 
we  look  down  upon  the  human  race  from  a  point  of 
view  sufficiently  high,  we  shall  find  them  divisible  into 
three  great  families — the  Mahometan,  the  Brahminical, 
and  the  Christian,  including  the  Jewish.  Within  the 
bosom  of  these  families,  there  are  numerous  points  of 
difl^erence.  The  nations  which  compose  them  are  in 
various  stages  of  progress  ;  but  still  they  are  all  mar- 
shalled and  moving  under  one  or  other  of  these  three 
banners.* 

The  Mahometan  division  occupies  South  Western 
Asia,  and  the  North  and  East  of  Africa.  The  Brah- 
minic  section,  the  most  populous  of  the  three,  possesses 
Eastern  Asia,  and  the  neighbouring  islands  on  the  east 
and  south,  including  Japan,  Chinese  Tartary,  China, 
and  the  Indies.  The  Christian  portion  comprehends 
Europe  and  America,  penetrates  Asia  by  the  north  and 

*  For  many  of  the  facts  stated  in  this  part  of  the  present  section, 
the  author  is  indebted  to  a  sketch  of  the  "  Present  State  of  Human- 
ity ;"  by  M.  JoufFroy,  Professor  in  the  Faculty  of  Literature,  Paris  ; 
in  which  with  much  that  is  unsound  in  theory,  there  is  blended 
much  that  is  useful  in  information. 
25 


290  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

the  south,  Africa  south  of  the  tropics,  and  has  colonies 
every  where. 

The  Moslem  division  embraces  a  population  of  about 
a  hundred  and  twenty  millions  ;  Brahminism,  in  its 
different  sects,  about  four  hundred  millions  ;  and  Chris- 
tendom about  two  hundred  millions.  The  remainder 
of  the  human  race,  amounting  to  nearly  a  hundred 
millions,  are  savage.  These  are  so  scattered  and  sur- 
rounded, that,  as  a  portion  of  humanity,  they  exert  no 
influence  on  the  three  great  divisions,  but  are  probably 
destined  to  be  assimilated  and  absorbed  by  them. 

The  great  powers,  then,  which  divide  the  civilized 
world  between  them,  are  Mahometanism,  Brahminism, 
and  Christianity.  Now  of  these,  it  is  evident  from 
facts  that  the  Christian  division  is  the  only  one  which 
possesses  an  expansive  power. 

Christianity  alone  entertains  the  idea  of  gaining 
savage  tribes  to  civilization.  Brahminism  has  few  or 
no  savages  to  civilize  ;  for  while  on  one  side  its 
dominion  extends  to  the  Eastern  borders  of  Asia,  on 
the  other  it  approaches  Mahometanism  and  Chris- 
tianity, and  consequently  touches  the  other  systems  of 
civilization.  Mahometanism  also,  on  the  East  towards 
Asia,  and  on  the  North  and  West  towards  Europe,  is 
arrested  by  Christian  and  Brahminic  civilization.  It 
comes  in  contact  with  savages  only  at  the  south  towards 
the  centre  of  Africa  ;  and  these  there  is  reason  to  con- 
clude that  it  entirely  disregards.  But  while  Mahom- 
etanism and  Brahminism  take  no  measures  by  which 
they  may  share  in  the  mass  of  men  who  are  yet  to  be 
civilized,  if  we  turn  our  eyes  to  Christianity  we  per- 
ceive that,  with  the  exception  of  the  barbarians  of 
Africa — and  even  these  it  is  on  the  point  of  disputing 
with  Mahometanism — it  holds  in  its  hand  all  the  savages 
of  the  rest  of  the  world. 

For,  in  the  next  place,  Christendom  is  the  only  one 
of  the  three  divisions  which  colonizes.  Mahometanism, 
like  Brahminism,  keeps  at  home.  The  time  when  it 
subdued  nations  with  the  sword  is   past.     While  there 


THE  MISSIONAKY  ENTERPRISE.  291 

is  hardly  an  island  of  any  considerable  magnitude  where 
one  part  or  other  of  Christendom  has  not  taken  a  station. 

It  is  the  only  one  of  the  three  divisions  capable  of 
increase  from  population.  The  countries  possessed  by 
the  other  two,  have  as  many  inhabitants  already  as 
comport  with  their  respective  systems  of  civilization. 
But  this  is  so  far  from  being  the  case  with  Christendom, 
that  the  population  of  modern  Russia,  for  instance, 
doubles  itself  in  about  fifty  years,  and  that  of  America  in 
about  half  that  period.  It  has  before  it,  therefore,  a  vast 
prospect  of  increase,  both  at  the  expense  of  the  savage 
portion  of  the  human  race,  and  by  virtue  of  its  own 
productive  power — a  prospect  denied  to  the  other  two. 

Christendom  alone  evinces  a  zeal  for  improvement. 
Among  the  Brahminic  nations  science  is  stationary  ;  by 
the  Mahometan  it  is  despised  ;  while  among  us  it  is 
honoured  and  cultivated,  and  is  rapidly  arming  us  with 
an  ever-increasing  power  over  them  both. 

Besides  which,  it  is  the  only  power  which  advances 
at  the  expense  of  the  others.  Not  only  does  its  supe- 
riority secure  it  from  the  attacks  of  the  other  two,  it 
places  them  both,  in  a  sense,  at  our  disposal.  Accord- 
ingly, neither  Brahminism  nor  Mahometanism  pene- 
trates, or  attempts  to  penetrate,  into  Christendom. 
They  appear  smitten  with  death.  They  make  no  con- 
quests even  on  each  other,  or  among  barbarians.  They 
seem  to  exist  merely  because  time  is  requisite  for  a  dead 
system,  as  for  a  dead  tree,  to  fall  to  pieces.  Christen- 
dom, on  the  contrary,  exhibits  all  the  signs  of  a  fresh 
and  vigorous  life.  Every  where  it  advances  with  ardour 
and  dehberate  purpose  into  the  domains  of  Brahma 
and  Mahomet ;  and  almost  the  only  resistance  which  it 
meets  with  is  that  of  inertness  and  decay.  Thus,  while 
the  aspect  which  the  former  two  present  is  that  of  the 
Dead  Sea,  the  latter,  like  the  Jordan,  is  seen  rushing 
into  it,  and  we  cannot  forget  that  the  promise  is,  "the 
waters  shall  be  healed." 

2.  But  if  on  taking  a  survey  of  the  civilized  world, 
we  are  struck  whh  the  fact  that  of  the  three  systems  into 


/ 


292  ■  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

which  it  is  divided  Christendom  alone  is  aggressive,  still 
more  are  we  impressed  at  finding  that,  of  all  the  nations 
of  Christendom,  those  which  are  especially  distinguished 
by  Providence  with  political  influence  over  the  lands  of 
Brahma  and  Mahomet  are  the  reformed  and  antipapal 
powers.  Italy  with  its  enfeebling  despotism,  Spain 
with  its  internal  factions  and  suicidal  passions,  and  even 
France  with  its  redundant  peasantry,  exhibit  no  symp- 
toms of  diffusing  themselves  over  the  world.  England, 
English  America,  and  Russia,  are  the  only  countries 
now  standing  in  an  interesting  relation  to  the  future. 
The  former  two,  may  be  regarded  as  one.  Concerning 
its  probable  destiny,  let  us  hear  an  opinion,  which, 
considering  the  quarter  whence  it  comes,  is  entitled  to 
deep  attention.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  "the  British 
race,"  says  M.  Tocqueville,^  "has  acquired  an  amazing 
preponderance  over  all  the  other  European  races  in  the 
New  World ;  and  that  it  is  very  superior  to  them  in 
civilization,  in  industry,  and  in  power.  .  .  .  The  geogra- 
phical position  of  the  British  race  in  the  New  World  is 
peculiarly  favourable  to  its  rapid  increase.  ...  It  has  been 
calculated  that  the  whites  advance  every  year  a  mean 
distance  of  seventeen  miles  along  the  whole  of  this  vast 
boundary  [about  fifteen  hundred  miles.]  Obstacles, 
such  as  an  unproductive  district,  a  lake,  or  an  Indian 
nation  unexpectedly  encountered,  are  sometimes  met 
with.  The  advancing  column  then  halts  for  a  while ; 
its  two  extremities  fall  back  upon  themselves;  and, 
as  soon  as  they  are  reunited,  they  proceed  onwards. 
This  gradual  and  continued  progress  of  the  European 
(British)  race  towards  the  rocky  mountains,  has  the 
solemnity  of  a  providential  event ;  it  is  like  a  deluge 
of  men  rising  unabatedly,  and  daily  driven  onwards  by 
the  hand  of  God.  .  .  .  Thus,  in  the  midst  of  the  uncertain 
future,  one  event  at  least  is  sure.  At  a  period  which 
may  be  said  to  be  near  (for  we  are  speaking  of  the  life 
of  a  nation)  the  Anglo-Americans  will  alone  cover  the 

*  Democracy  in  America.     Paris  and  London,  1835. 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE,  293 

immense  space  contained  between  the  Polar  regions 
and  the  Tropics,  extending  from  the  coast  of  the 
Atlantic  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  ocean — equal  to 
three  quarters  of  Europe  in  extent ;  with  a  popula- 
tion of  a  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  men.  .  .  .  This  is 
a  fact  new  to  the  world,  a  fact  fraught  with  such  por- 
tentous consequences  as  to  baffle  the  efforts  even  of 
the  imagination." 

But  it  is  not  merely  one  quarter  of  the  world  of 
which  the  British  race  have  taken  possession.  Southern 
Africa  has  received  her  language  and  her  laws.  In 
Australia — a  new  world  larger  than  Europe,  and  com- 
paratively empty  of  men — colonization  is  spreading  with 
a  rapidity  never  before  witnessed.  And  still  about 
two  hundred  thousand  emigrants  annually  leave  the 
shores  of  Britain  to  take  possession  of  the  waste  places 
of  the  earth,  as  if  they  were  theirs  by  a  Divine  gift,  or 
by  the  right  of  inheritance. 

Our  empire  and  political  influence  in  the  East,  too, 
are  of  vast  and  still  increasing  extent.  We  speak  not 
now  of  the  unexpected  manner  in  which  England  has 
been  allowed  to  become  the  mistress  of  India,  or  of  the 
solemn  responsibility  which  the  mighty  transfer  has  im- 
posed on  us.  These  are  subjects  for  consideration  in  a 
subsequent  chapter.  We  adv^ert  to  the  striking  fact, 
that  Providence  has  permitted  us  to  acquire  politi- 
cal influence  over  about  a  hundred  millions  of  immor- 
tal beings  in  India,  as  a  very  cheering  view  for  those 
who  meditate  their  conversion  to  God.  And  this  fact 
becomes  still  more  encouraging  and  significant  of  the 
Divine  designs,  when  we  remember  that  the  country 
has  already  been  in  the  hands  of  the  Portuguese,  who, 
by  their  cruelty,  opposed  its  religious  improvement, 
and  of  the  Dutch,  who  neglected  it,  and  is  now  intrusted 
to  the  only  people  who  possess  the  means,  humanly 
speaking,  of  benefiting  it. 

Now  what  reflecting  Christian  but  must  perceive,  in 
this  view  of  the  state  of  the  world,  strong  encourage- 
ment to  Missionary  enterprise  ?  Let  him  not  fear  that 
25* 


294  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

we  shall  overrate  its  importance  ;  or  be  tempted  by  it 
to  withdraw  our  supreme  confidence  from  Him  "  who 
is  our  hope."  We  are  free  to  admit  that  our  extensive 
influence  has  been  acquired  by  no  design  or  forethought 
on  our  part,  but  in  the  providential  course  of  events 
from  the  expansiveness  of  our  energies,  and  the  inherent 
advantages  of  that  civilization  for  which  we  are  indebted 
to  our  religion.  Nor  can  we  forget  that  the  occasion 
which  led  to  the  colonization  of  America  by  the  Puri- 
tans ;  the  bribery  and  bloodshed  by  which  we  have 
obtained  large  portions  of  India  ;  and  the  countenance 
still  afforded  to  its  hateful  idolatry,  are  all  calculated 
to  cast  a  stain  upon  our  glory,  and  may  well  induce  us 
to  rejoice  with  trembling.  Still,  it  is  not  the  less  our 
duty,  rather  it  is  calculated  to  augment  our  gratitude, 
to  remark  that,  in  defiance  of  all  our  own  deserts,  and 
of  all  human  calculation,  our  political  position  abounds 
with  encouragement  to  Missionary  exertion. 

Suppose,  for  instance,  that  Christendom  and  Mahom- 
etanism  were  to  exchange  their  relative  positions  ; 
that  the  former  were  declining  and  superannuated, 
existing  on  the  mere  sufferance  of  the  latter,  and  ex- 
pecting to  be  finally  driven  from  Europe  ;  while  the 
standard  of  the  prophet  was  planted  in  the  heart  of  the 
continent,  the  scymetar  flashing  around  the  shores  of 
the  Mediterranean,  and  one  province  and  island  after 
another  resounding  for  the  first  time  with  the  cry  of 
the  muezzin, — would  the  change  cast  no  shade  over 
our  Missionary  prospects  ?  Whatever  our  duty  might 
be,  would  our  hopes  remain  undiminished  }  Would  not 
a  revolution,  which  should  cast  Mahometanism  to  the 
earth,  and  place  Christendom  in  its  present  attitude  of 
security  and  superiority  above  it,  bring  back  a  great 
accession  of  encouragement  to  the  Missionary  cause, 
and  be  regarded  by  us  as  a  loud  call  to  increased 
activity  .'' 

Suppose,  again,  that  those  on  whom  the  modern 
Missionary  spirit  has  descended,  inhabited  a  country 
situated  in  the  centre  of  the  European  continent,  destitute 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  295 

of  a  navy,  and  strangers  to  commerce,  would  the  want 
of  all  our  present  maritime  facilities  be  unfelt  and  unde- 
plored  ?  Is  it  nothing  that  this  spirit  has  been  excited 
among  those  whose  subject  territory  is  thrice  as  large 
as  that  of  ancient  Rome,  whose  colonies  people  every 
quarter  of  the  globe,  and  whose  ships  crowd  every  port 
of  every  shore  ?  This  is  not  accident.  It  is  the  finger 
of  God  pointing  out  our  duty  to  the  world,  and  the  voice 
of  God  cheering  us  on  to  perform  it. 

Is  it  nothing,  again,  that  India  "  is  open  ?"  Only  a 
little  more  than  a  century  ago,  it  was  as  likely,  to  al! 
appearance,  that  the  Mogul  Empire  would  have  passed 
into  the  hands  of  France,  of  Portugal,  of  Denmark, 
of  Holland,  or  even  of  Russia,  as  of  England.  But, 
under  the  jealous  despotism  of  Russia,  or  the  ascend- 
ency of  a  Romish  power,  India  would  have  been  closed 
against  the  Missionary.  And  is  it  nothing,  then,  that  it 
has  been  given  to  the  only  Protestant  power  capable  of 
efficiently  discharging  the  high  mission  of  genuine 
Christianity  throughout  the  East  ?  Let  the  Christian 
reader,  who  beholds  in  it  a  special  providence,  derive 
from  it  also  special  encouragement  to  increased  Mission- 
ary effort. 


SECTION  III. 

MISSIONARY   ENCOURAGEMENT    ARISING   FROM   THE    MORAL    ASPECT   OF 
THE    WORLD. 

1.  Another  source  of  encouragement  to  Missionary 
exertion  arises  from  the  moral  aspect  of  the  various 
parts  of  the  world.  And  here,  if  we  begin  our  exami- 
nation with  the  least  hopeful  of  those  parts — the  Maho- 
metan, and  select  the  least  auspicious  sections  even  of 
these — Persia  and  Turkey,  we  shall  find  that  never 
did  the    Moslem  ranks  present  so  broken  a  front,  and 


296  ENCOURAGEIVIENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

invite  aggression  with  so  great  a  prospect  of  success  as 
at  present.  The  pohtical  state  of  these  countries  is  a 
correct  representation  of  their  moral  condition.  Persia, 
by  its  heretical  adherence  to  Ali,  divides  the  Mussul- 
man power  ;  and  becomes  a  source  of  solicitude  and 
weakness  to  Turkey.  As  Mahomet  appealed  to  the 
sword  in  proof  of  the  divinity  of  his  mission,  "  every 
battle  lost  is  an  argument  lost  ;"  so  that  the  evidence 
of  his  creed  is  nearly  at  its  minimum.  Science  and 
philosophy  are  against  it,  for  of  all  the  systems  of  false 
religion,  that  of  the  impostor  is  the  least  true  to  nature  ; 
so  that  almost  every  fresh  scientific  discovery  is  the 
preparation  of  a  new  weapon  with  which  to  assail  it, 
and  every  Mahometan  that  begins  to  reason,  is  a  votary 
lost.  The  Ottomans  themselves,  are  possessed  with  a 
melancholy  foreboding  of  their  doom  ;  and  the  events 
of  every  year  only  serve  to  deepen  the  gloom  of  their 
prospects.  Their  moral  aspect  now,  therefore,  is  that 
of  a  foe  comparatively  disarmed  and  disheartened  ;  and 
though  he  who  should  denounce  the  Caaba,  or  preach 
the  Cross,  in  the  streets  of  Constantinople,  would  pro- 
bably find  the  cadi  and  bigotry  as  active  us  ever,  yet 
the  history  of  Henry  Martyn  shows  us  how  patiently  the 
Islamite  will  attend  to  the  claims  of  Christianity,  when 
judiciously  presented,  and  how  beneficial  an  influence 
may  be  exercised  by  religious  conversation  alone. 

2.  There  was  a  time  when  the  Polytheism  of  India 
was  deemed  unchangeable.  It  is  evident,  however,  not 
only  that  multitudes  of  Hindoos  adopted,  from  whatever 
motives,  the  religion  of  their  Mahometan  conquerors  ; 
but  that,  without  any  foreign  inducement,  they  have 
voluntarily  passed  through  the  usual  gradations  of  error, 
and  exhibited  the  ordinary  love  of  change.  From  the 
worship  of  the  elements  they  have  advanced  to  Brahmin- 
ical  Polytheism  ;  from  Polytheism  to  the  Pantheism  of 
the  Budhists  ;  and  from  Budhism  have  returned  to 
Brahminism  again.  So  that  all  our  fears  of  the  immo- 
bility of  the  Hindoo  character  have  been  long  since 
proved  to  be  unfounded.      It  should  be   remembered 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  297 

also,  that  the  religion  prevalent  through  all  the  regions 
of  the  East  is  substantially  the  same.  For  the  Brah- 
minism  of  Hindostan  is  only  a  more  popular  form  of 
the  strict  Pantheism  which  prevails  to  the  north  and 
the  east,  and  which  is  satisfied  with  the  one  incarnation 
of  Budh.  So  that  in  dissolving  the  fatal  charm  of 
Hindooism,  we  should  not  be  benefiting  a  single  nation, 
merely,  but  breaking  the  spell  by  which  nearly  half  the 
race  are  morally  enslaved. 

Remarkable  it  is,  too,  that  there  should  be  one  coun- 
try of  the  East  which  has  given  religion,  science,  and 
civilization  to  all  the  rest ;  for  from  India  have  pro- 
ceeded the  Missionaries  of  the  Lamas,  the  Bonzes,  and 
of  Budh,  the  last  of  the  Indian  incarnations — a  fact 
which  awakens  the  hope  that  when  the  same  land 
embraces  Christianity,  it  will  be  equally  ready  to  fur- 
nish Missionaries  of  the  Cross  for  the  very  extremities 
of  Asia.  Still  more  remarkable  is  it,  that  this  one 
country,  to  which  all  the  surrounding  regions  look  as 
the  fountain  of  holiness  and  wisdom,  should  be  placed 
by  Providence  at  our  disposal.  To  heighten  our  en- 
couragement, the  ancient  and  antiquated  religion  of 
this  one  country  has  fallen  into  discredit,  and  is  rapidly 
on  the  decline.  Where  one  new  temple  is  built,  sixty 
are  allowed  to  go  to  ruin.  Many  of  the  seminaries 
where  the  shastres  are  studied,  are  closed  for  want  of 
pupils.  Nodea  and  Santapore,  the  two  most  celebrated 
of  these  colleges,  and  which  formerly  had  from  three  to 
four  thousand  students,  have  not  at  present  n:iore  than 
three  or  four  hundred.  The  Brahmins  themselves 
have  lost  so  much  of  their  influence  with  the  people, 
that  their  curses  are  but  little  dreaded,  or  their  bless- 
ings desired.  Hundreds  of  them  have  renounced  the 
priesthood,  as  no  longer  able  to  afford  them  the  means 
of  living.  The  links  of  caste  are  fractured,  and  the 
very  weight  of  the  chain  is  threatening  a  powerful  reac- 
tion against  it. 

Who  does  not  behold  in  all  this  a  grand  work  of 
providential  preparation   for  the  Missionary  enterprise 


298  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

in  India  ?  And,  as  if  nothing  should  be  wanting  to 
complete  our  encouragement,  a  large  proportion  of  the 
population  are  already  able  to  read  and  write  ;  a  very 
general  desire  is  felt  to  acquire  the  arts  and  sciences 
of  Europe  ;  and  the  knowledge  of  these  would  necessi- 
tate and  hasten  the  fall  of  Hindooism.  A  strong  pre- 
sentiment that  its  doom  is  sealed  is  daily  extending  ; 
and  such  is  the  comparative  indifference  for  its  fate, 
that,  in  numerous  instances,  the  Christian  Missionary 
denounces  idolatry  in  the  very  temple  of  the  god. 

3.  China — that  world  within  itself — is  doubtless  sur- 
rounded with  obstacles  to  conversion.  But  the  exist- 
ence of  these,  constitute  the  very  reason,  and  the  only 
ground  of  necessity,  why  we  should  attempt  it.  She  is 
guarded  against  the  truth  by  more  than  one  wall.  Her 
material  wall,  as  it  has  been  justly  remarked,  is  crumbling 
dust  compared  with  her  political  ;  her  political  wall  is 
a  mere  illusion  compared  with  her  moral  barriers — 
for  civilization  in  China  can  hardly  be  called  religious  ; 
her  moral  wall  of  prejudice  and  pride  is  only  that  by 
which  sin  entrenches  itself  in  every  country  and  every 
heart.  The  wall  which  overtops  the  whole,  and  which 
we  shall  find  it  most  difficult  to  surmount,  is  that  which 
our  own  unbelief  and  ignorance  have  erected.  Every 
other  has  been  breached  and  entered.  So  far  is  China 
to  be  from  being  regarded  as  impregnable,  that  Judaism 
entered  it  probably  prior  to  the  Christian  era.  Bud- 
hism  in  the  first  century,  Nestorianism  in  the  seventh 
century,  Mahometanism  in  the  eighth  century,  and 
Romanism  in  the  thirteenth  century.  Such  was  the 
success  of  Popery  in  China,  especially  in  the  hands 
of  M.  Ricci  and  Father  Schaal,  that  many  of  the 
mandarins  embraced  its  doctrines  ;  one  province  alone 
contained  ninety  churches  and  forty-five  oratories  ;  a 
splendid  church  was  built  within  the  palace  ;  the 
mother,  wife,  and  son  of  the  emperor,  Yung-leih, 
professed  Christianity  ;  and  nothing  apparently  pre- 
vented China  from  being  added  to  the  papal  see  but 
the  disputes  which  broke  out  between  the  Jesuits  and 
the  Dominicans. 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  299 

But  besides  the  encouragement  derivable  from  the 
fact  that  China  has  already  been  open  to  Missionary 
aggression,  it  should  be  gratefully  remembered  also 
that  obstacles  existing  elsewhere  are  absent  here  ;  and 
that  many  of  those  considerations  which  once  operated 
as  fears,  have  gradually  vanished,  or  changed  into 
hopes.  The  climate,  for  instance,  so  far  from  being 
relaxing  or  pestilential,  is  fully  as  salubrious  as  that 
of  England,  and  much  less  changeable.  The  language, 
once  deemed  unattainable,  has  been  mastered,  and 
"  made  easy  ;"  and  what  an  inducement  should  it 
furnish  to  the  Christian  student,  that  when  he  has 
mastered  the  Chinese  symbols,  he  will  be  able  to  make 
himself  intelligible  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ganges  to 
the  Amoor,  and  to  indite  a  book — for  nearly  all  can 
read — for  more  than  one-third  of  the  human  race. 
The  despotic  unity  of  its  government,  by  which  the 
will  of  one  man  moves  and  rules  the  entire  mass,  may 
itself  be  made  the  means,  under  God,  of  its  more  easy 
and  effectual  reconstruction  on  Christian  principles. 
At  all  events,  the  unity  of  character  resulting  from 
this  unvarying  uniformity  of  literature  and  government, 
is  attended  with  this  advantage  to  the  Missionary,  that 
to  comprehend  the  sentiments  and  reply  to  the  ob- 
jections of  a  single  mind,  is  to  master  the  views  and 
objections  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  millions  of 
human  beings.  In  this  respect,  too,  the  magnitude  of 
the  population,  once  regarded  as  appalling,  presents 
the  Missionary  with  an  advantage  not  to  be  met  with 
elsewhere.  But  that  which  calls  for  special  observation 
is,  both  that  the  Chinese  mode  of  writing  is  current 
and  legible  far  beyond  the  limits  of  China,  throughout 
Cochin-China,  Corea,  and  Japan,  and  that  the  popula- 
tion of  China  itself  is  bursting  forth  on  every  side, 
placing  itself  in  voluntary  contact  with  Christians,  and 
seeking  the  shelter  of  European  governments.  Millions 
are  already  to  be  found  in  Burmah  and  Siam,  in  Pegu, 
Assam,  and  the  Malayan  Archipelago.  All  these  are 
accessible  to   Missionary  efforts.     What  has  been  ac- 


300  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

complisbed  of  late  among  these  by  the  ardent  and  per- 
severing zeal  of  two  or  three  individuals,  encourages 
the  hope  and  points  out  the  way  of  benefiting  China 
at  large.  For  only  let  suitable  measures  be  taken  to 
evangelize  tlie  emigrant  Chinese,  and  a  race  of  Mis- 
sionaries will  be  thus  provided,  which,  in  despite  of 
imperial  edicts,  will  find  their  way  into  all  parts  of  the 
empire,  and  become,  in  the  hands  of  God,  the  instru- 
ments of  its  renovation. 

4.  The  most  considerable  body  of  barbarians  on 
the  face  of  the  earth  at  present,  living  contiguously 
in  the  same  region,  is  the  forty  millions  of  Central 
Africa.  To  the  evangelization,  or  even  the  civilization, 
of  this  dense  mass  of  barbarism,  five  obstacles  formerly 
presented  themselves,  each  of  which  was  deemed  in- 
superable— the  judical  sentence  of  God  against 
them,  their  mental  imbecility,  the  demoralizing  influ- 
ence of  slavery,  the  deadly  nature  of  the  climate,  and 
the  ferocious  character  of  the  native  superstitions./ 
To  the  first  of  these  it  is  now  considered  a  sufficient 
reply,  that  the  Gospel  repeals  every  national  maledic- 
tion, and  addresses  itself  to  every  creature.  Missionary 
culture  has  proved  that,  as  to  the  second,  the  charge 
of  mental  inferiority  must  in  future  lie  rather  against 
those  who  bring  it  than  against  the  African.  The 
third  will  be  gradually  obviated  in  the  universal  abo- 
lition of  slavery — for  the  sentence  of  indignant  human- 
ity has  gone  forth  against  it.  While  the  emancipation 
of  our  slaves  might  go  far  to  obviate  the  fourth ;  for 
what  agency  so  fitted,  physically  and  morally,  to  evan- 
gelize the  inhabitants  of  the  torrid  zone  as  their  con- 
verted brethren  of  the  West  Indies  ?  And,  as  to  the 
last, — the  ferocious  character  of  African  superstition, — 
it  is  now  well  ascertained  that  while  their  religious 
creed  is  too  meagre  and  undefined  to  possess  a  power- 
ful hold  on  their  minds,  their  religious  practices,  con- 
sisting of  Obeah  and  Fetishism,  form  a  "reign  of 
terror  "  against  which  a  very  slight  inducement  would 
raise  them  in  revolt.      And  hence,  wherever  the  Gospel 


THE  ^MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  301 

has  been   preached  to  them,  ''Ethiopia  has  stretched 
out  her  hands  unto  God." 

5.  The  other  savage  portions  of  the  earth  wear  a 
moi;e  encouraging  aspect  still.  As  there  is  no  pecuhar 
obstacle  to  the  religious  instruction  of  the  Aborigines 
of  the  Americas  which  European  injustice  has  not 
created,  it  may  be  hoped  that  the  Christian  sympathy 
awakened  in  their  behalf  will  be  successful  in  removing 
it.  While  their  comparative  vicinity  to  the  American 
churches  encourages  the  hope  of  their  more  speedy 
recovery.  Experiment  has  proved  that  the  New  Hol- 
lander may  be  reclaimed  and  elevated  to  Christian 
humanity  ;  and  that  New  Zealand  may  become  a  pro- 
vince of  the  Prince  of  peace.  Nearly  the  whole  of 
Eastern  Polynesia  is  converted  to  the  Christian  faith. 
And  still  as  the  Missionary  stretches  away  towards  the 
Fijis,  and  approaches  New  Caledonia,  New  Britain,  New 
Ireland,  and  New  Guinea,  he  finds  the  islands  waiting 
for  the  law  of  the  Lord. 

6.  Christendom  naturally  divides  itself  into  the 
Greek,  Romish,  and  Reformed  Churches  :  reserving 
the  last  for  consideration  in  the  next  section,  we  may 
remark  of  the  first,  that,  with  all  its  unvarying  child- 
ishness and  love  of  toys,  it  is  not  without  the  prospect 
of  improvement.  Education  is  encouraged  and  pro- 
moted by  the  Emperor  of  Russia.  The  career  of 
civilization  on  which  that  vast  country  has  entered  will 
necessarily  bring  her  into  contact  with  superior  moral 
influences  ;  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  constitution 
of  the  Greek  Church  to  prevent  her  deriving  advant- 
age from  them.  According  to  a  recent  edict  of  the 
Emperor,  Russian  Georgia  is  to  be  "evangelized." 
Signs  of  Missionary  activity,  even  of  the  lowest  kind, 
indicative  of  hope. 

7.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  palmy  days 
of  the  Romish  Church  have  passed  never  to  return. 
In  the  activity  which  she  here  and  there  exhibits, 
we  see  only  the  restlessness  of  petulance,  and  the 
hurried  and  uncertain  expedients  of  fear.     The  Refor- 

26 


302  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

mation  has  left  no  part  of  Popery  what  it  was  before. 
The  Press  has  imparted  a  power  to  pubhc  opinion  by 
which  the  Inquisition — the  extinguisher  of  opinion — 
has  itself  been  extinguished.  The  circulation  of  the 
Bible  has  kindled  a  light  from  whose  beams  that  sys- 
tem of  darkness  will  never  be  able  effectually  to  retire. 
The  light  of  truth  and  the  force  of  opinion  are  both 
against  it.  Even  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  two  of  its 
strongholds,  principles  obtained  with  which,  in  its  pre- 
sent form,  it  cannot  long  co-exist. 

But  let  us  glance  at  European  Christendom  in  its 
two  great  divisions  of  north  and  south, — Germany  and 
France.  The  Rationalism  of  Germany  has  been  long 
on  the  decline.  Almost  of  a  sudden,  and  without 
any  cause  which  could  be  historically  traced,  a  general 
dissatisfaction  and  disgust  with  it,  seized  the  community. 
The  teachers  who  favoured  infidelity  saw  themselves 
in  the  minority.  Philosophy,  previously  hostile  to 
religion,  declared  itself  the  servant  of  the  Christian 
faith.  Supernaturalism  obtained  ascendency ;  and  the 
istill  growing  popularity  of  the  "Pietists"  augurs  well 
for  the  diffusion  of  evangelical  religion. 

The  J^aturalism  of  France,  like  the  Rationalism 
of  Germany,  is  on  the  wane.  Voltaire,  Diderot,  and 
Cabanis  are  no  longer  authorities  with  cultivated 
minds.  And,  though  the  great  bulk  of  the  people 
are  still  plunged  in  materialism,  the  philosophy  of 
spiritualism  alone  (such  as  it  is)  is  popular  with  the 
educated ;  while,  among  the  most  enlightened  part 
of  the  nation,  a  strong  presentiment  is  said  to  pre- 
vail, of  some  approaching  religious  change.  A  spirit 
of  religious  inquiry  is  certainly  abroad  in  France,  such 
as  has  not  been  known  since  the  time  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. And  the  multiplication  of  Protestant  Religious 
Societies,  the  gradual  increase  of  faithful  pastors  in 
the  Reformed  National  Church ;  and  the  eminent 
names  of  NefF,  the  Baron  de  Stael,  Gonthier,  with 
those  who  are  at  present  living,  exert  an  influence 
which  naturally  awakens  the  hope  that  that  spirit  of 
inquiry  may  lead,  under  God,  to  the  happiest  resuhs. 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  303 

8.  Nor  can  we  conclude  these  remarks  on  the  moral 
condition  of  the  various  divisions  of  mankind,  with- 
out adverting  to  the  fact  that  even  the  mind  of  the 
Jews  is  beginning  to  awake.  And  though  the  philoso- 
phy of  Mendelsohn  is  transferring  them  from  the  silly 
reveries  of  their  rabbins  to  the  anti-supernaturalism 
of  Spinosa,  the  very  circumstance  of  their  change 
shows  that  much  of  their  obstinacy  is  to  be  ascribed 
to  their  ignorance,  and  that  Christian  kindness  and 
instruction  could  never  meet  them  more  seasonably 
than  now,  in  their  passage  from  credulhy  to  infidelity. 
Reformed  synagogues  have  been  opened  at  Berlin, 
Leipsic,  Vienna,  Carlsruhe,  Breslau,  London,  and 
other  places.  The  Karaite  Jews,  or  Scripturists,  have 
an  especial  claim  upon  the  attention  of  Christians. 
And  let  us  remember  that  "the  partial  bhndness  that 
has  fallen  upon  Israel  shall  continue  (only)  till  the 
full  complement  of  the  nations  shall  have  been  brought 
in,  and  then  shall  universal  Israel  be  restored."  So 
that  as  nation  after  nation  opens  its  gates  to  welcome 
the  entrance  of  the  Christian  faith,  the  Jews  cannot 
look  on  without  being  in  some  degree  "  provoked  to 
jealousy,"  nor  can  we  fail  to  recognise  signs  of  their 
approaching  recovery. 

Such  are  the  moral  signs  of  the  times.  We  do  not 
for  a  moment  mistake  them  for  signs  of  incipient  con- 
version. We  do  not  even  interpret  the  most  hopeful 
indication  among  them  into  a  token  of  direct  readiness  to 
embrace  the  truth.  The  mind  may  leave  one  class  of 
errors  only  to  embrace  a  worse.  All  that  we  infer 
from  the  moral  aspect  of  the  world  is,  that  if  it  be  a 
more  promising  undertaking  to  assail  a  system  of  error, 
in  the  season  of  its  age  and  v;eakness,  than  in  the  hour 
of  its  strength,  that  encouragement  is  now  held  out, 
for  that  season  has  arrived.  If  the  time  for  recasting 
the  metal  is  when  it  has  reached  a  state  of  fusion,  now 
is  the  period  for  employing  the  mould  of  the  Gospel 
when  the  human  mind  is  so  generally  indicative  of 
being  in  the  crucible,  and  of  possessing  unusual  sus- 


304  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

ceptibility  for  new  impressions.  Look  in  what  di- 
rection we  will,  the  horizon  of  hope  enlarges  and 
brightens.  The  fanatical  zeal  of  the  Mahometan  has 
burnt  out.  The  priestly  power  of  the  Brahmin  is 
broken,  and  his  demons  wait  in  vain  for  their  pre- 
scribed libations  of  blood.  The  altar  of  the  Chinese, 
empty,  but  standing,  is  waiting  to  welcome  the  advent 
of  an  unknown  God.  The  South  African  chief  comes 
from  the  remote  interior,  and  offers  his  herds  for  a 
Christian  teacher  ;  the  vast  kingdoms  and  islands  be- 
yond the  Ganges  are  ready  for  the  reception  of  a 
number  of  Missionaries.  In  one  quarter.  Idolatry  is 
losing  its  hold  on  millions  ;  in  another,  the  savage  is 
awakening  from  the  sleep  of  centuries  ;  here.  Popery 
is  falling  off  from  a  nation,  as  a  snake  casts  its  gaudy 
but  shrivelled  skin  ;  there,  philosophy  is  wearied  out 
with  its  ever  promising  but  unsatisfactory  illusions  ; 
and,  elsewhere,  childish  credulity  is  becoming  a  man 
and  putting  away  childish  things.  Every  where  are 
to  be  seen  an  impatience  of  the  present,  a  deep  pre- 
sentiment that  it  is  hastening  to  decay,  and  a  spirit 
of  inquiry,  anticipation,  and  change,  looking  out  on 
the  future.  As  it  was  with  Judea  and  the  East  gene- 
rally about  the  era  of  the  advent  of  the  Son  of  God, 
the  world  is  waiting  for  the  advent  of  some  principle 
or  means  which  shall  change  its  destinies.  Now  then 
is  the  time  for  the  Church  to  proclaim  to  it,  "  Behold 
your  God." 


SECTION  IV. 


ECCLESIASTICAL    ENCOUKAGEMENT     TO    PROMOTE     THE     MISSIONARY     EN- 
TERPRISE. 

Of  Protestant  Christendom  we  proposed  to  speak  sepa- 
rately.    And  as  our  object  here  will  be  to  point  out  the 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  o05 

ecclesiastical  auspices  of  the  Missionary  enterprise,  we 
shall  direct  our  attention  chiefly  to  England  and 
English  America.  For,  although  some  of  the  Pro- 
testant churches  of  Switzerland  and  Holland,  France 
and  Germany,  are  prepared  to  send  their  contingents 
into  the  field  of  Missionary  labour,  it  may  be  expected 
that  their  resources  will  be  almost  entirely  needed  for 
years  to  come  to  meet  the  demands  of  home  ;  while 
the  similar  resources  of  England,  meantime,  and  of  her 
religious  ally,  are  of  a  degree  which  devolve  on  them 
pre-eminently  the  office  of  the  religious  instructors  of 
the  world .  ,♦ 

That  peculiar  encouragements  for  the  execution  of 
the  office  exist,  we  have  already  seen.  In  vain  would 
it  be,  however,  to  show  that  considerations  historical, 
political,  and  moral,  conspired  to  animate  the  Mis- 
sionary enterprise,  if,  at  the  same  time,  every  thing 
in  the  Church  itself  seemed  to  forbid  the  attempt : 
if  the  Missionary  spirit,  for  instance,  had  yet  to  be 
enkindled  ;  or  if,  having  been  excited,  it  was  evidently 
on  the  decline  ;  or  if,  having  existed  for  years,  it  yet 
exhibited  no  signs  of  improvement  at  home,  nor  was 
attended  with  any  success  abroad.  But,  in  reality, 
the  direct  reverse  of  each  of  these  suppositions  is  found 
to  be  the  truth ;  and  hence  our  ecclesiastical  encourage- 
ment to  advance. 

1.  For,  first,  a  Missionary  spirit  does  exist  in  our 
churches.  There  was  a  time,  and  that  not  many  years 
ago,  when  it  did  not  exist.  Here  and  there  a  Christian 
divine  might  occasionly  advert  to  the  desirableness 
of  such  a  spirit;  a  Christian  poet  might  tune  his  lyre 
to  celebrate  its  glorious  results  ;  and  a  Christian  philan- 
thropist wish  to  behold  the  sublime  reality.  But  so 
far  from  entertaining  any  definite  views,  or  manifesting 
any  active  zeal  on  the  subject,  the  Christian  commu- 
nity, in  general,  resembled  rather  the  altar  and  ofi^ering 
of  Elijah  when  immersed  in  water.  And  as  in  great 
undertakings  the  first  step  is  commonly  the  most  diffi- 
cult and  important,  so  here,  now  that  fire  has  descended 

26* 


306  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  FROSECDTE 

from  heaven  to  ignite  the  mass,  we  are  prepared  to  see 
the  whole  gradually  become  a  flaming  sacrifice  for  the 
glory  of  God.  That  such  a  sacred  kindling  has  com- 
menced, we  have  already  demonstrated  at  large.  Holy 
men  of  God  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  Missionary 
enterprise ;  Christians  have  associated  for  the  purpose 
of  sending  them  forth  ;  and  the  result  has  been  that 
voices  have  been  heard  in  various  parts  of  the  moral 
wilderness  of  the  world,  crying,  "Prepare  ye  the  way 
of  the  Lord." 

2.  But  let  us  rather  proceed  to  show  that  not  only 
does  the  Missionary  spirit  exist,  but  that  it  is  also 
progressive.  It  has,  we  presume,  passed  that  critical 
period  in  the  history  of  a  society  or  institution  when, 
losing  those  sympathies  which  kindle  so  easily  on 
contact  with  new  objects,  it  must  rely  on  principles, 
or  perish.  At  first,  the  warm  impulses  of  pious  feeling 
alone  might  serve  to  prompt  to  the  effort,  and  to  supply 
the  place  of  sober  and  substantial  principles.  But 
"that  spring  time  of  novelty  has  passed.  The  ardent 
feeling  and  the  excited  imagination  which  threw  so 
much  interest  over  the  prospect  of  the  work,  have 
given  way  to  the  grave  reality  of  the  work  itself." 
Every  year  has  increasingly  based  its  support  on  its 
own  intrinsic  claims.  The  great  truth  that  every 
Christian  is  bound  to  do  something  for  the  diffusion  of 
the  Gospel,  long  hid  from  view  like  a  sand-covered 
pyramid  of  the  East,  has  been  gradually  disinterred 
and  brought  to  light ;  till  now  it  stands  before  the 
Church  in  its  majestic  proportions,  and  is  universally 
recognised  as  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  Mis- 
sionary enterprise.  No  longer  is  it  deemed  necessary 
to  support  it  by  arguments.  Being  admitted  as  an 
axiom  in  Christian  ethics,  all  that  remains  is  to  point 
out  its  application,  and  to  enforce  its  importance. 
And  further,  to  show  that  the  Church  has  been  brought 
to  act  from  a  calm  and  simple  sense  of  obligation,  we 
might  advert  to  the  fact  that  since  its  modern  Mis- 
sionary activity  commenced,  it  has,  in  some   instances, 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  307 

endured  protracted  trials  and  severe  discomfitures,  which 
would  have  put  to  flight  all  mere  impulse,  and  which 
only  a  grave  and  deep-seated  conviction  of  duty  could 
have  sustained.  Notwithstanding  the  conviction  that 
in  this,  as  in  every  grand  and  lasting  enterprise,  the 
great  law  will  obtain,  that  "  one  soweth  and  another 
reapeth,"  the  friends  of  Missions  have  continued  to  go 
forth  to  sow. 

It  is  an  auspicious  sign  of  the  progress  of  a  cause, 
when  it  can  not  only  dispense  with  the  impulse  of  mere 
excitement  and  fall  back  on  its  principles,  but  when, 
at  the  very  same  time,  it  is  found  to  extend  and 
deepen  its  influence  on  the  public  mind.  Now  the 
Missionary  cause  has  done  this.  "  Not  to  pray  for  the 
coming  of  the  Messiah,"  said  the  ancient  Jewish  pro- 
verb, "  is  not  to  pray  at  all."  And  not  to  pray  for  the 
diffusion  of  his  Gospel,  it  may  now  be  said,  is  not  to 
pray  at  all.  Every  prayer  is  expected  to  include  it. 
In  every  religious  family,  the  infant  lisps  of  it  in  his 
earliest  hymn.  The  "  Missionary  Box"  is  an  object  of 
notice  alike  in  the  nursery  and  the  schoolroom,  in  the 
private  residence  and  the  public  shop.  The  Missionary 
tract  is  in  universal  request  in  every  Sunday  school. 
The  Missionary  "  Branch"  or  "  Auxiliary,"  is  to  be 
found  in  activity  in  every  district  and  every  congrega- 
tion. The  Missionary  Anniversary,  is  bailed  as  the 
return  of  a  most  welcome  festival.  The  subject  is  to 
be  met  with  in  newspapers,  and  journals,  and  libraries, 
of  almost  every  description.  Far  and  wide  through 
the  land  does  it  enter  into  our  literature,  and  form  a 
part  of  the  public  reading. 

Nor  is  it  confined  to  any  one  class  of  society.  Be- 
ginning principally  in  the  middle  ranks,  the  Missionary 
spirit  has  descended  and  pervaded  the  mass  of  the  Chris- 
tian poor,  and  at  the  same  time  has  gradually  drawn 
within  its  influence  many  in  the  highest  circles  of  the 
nobility.  Nor  is  it  limited  to  any  one  denomination 
of  the  Christian  community,  or  even  to  any  particular 
portion  of  Christendom.     Though  some  churches  have 


308  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

attached  themselves  to  the  great  Missionary  organiza- 
tion more  tardily,  and  are  less  powerfully  influenced  by 
the  object  than  others,  yet  every  orthodox  Protestant 
body  in  Christendom  has  at  length  joined  it,  and  gives 
signs  of  being  affected  by  it  in  a  similar  manner.  Among 
all  Christians  holding  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation, 
there  is  now  a  common  mind  in  favour  of  the  Missionary 
enterprise. 

The  prosperity  of  a  cause  is  indicated  also  when  the 
numerical  increase  of  its  supporters  is  not  made  an 
excuse  for  the  reduction  of  individual  effort,  but  both 
are  seen  advancing  together.  Now  the  Missionary  cause 
exhibits  this  sign.  Each  successive  year  has  witnessed 
an  increase  on  the  income  and  activity  of  the  year  pre- 
ceding. Christians,  trained  to  liberality  by  its  benefi- 
cent spirit,  have,  in  many  instances  doubled  and 
quadrupled  their  subscriptions.  A  salutary  reaction 
has  been  constantly  going  on  between  the  increase  of 
our  labours  abroad,  and  the  enlarged  demand  on  our 
resources  at  home.  The  more  we  have  given,  the  more 
we  have  been  enabled  to  do  ;  and  the  more  we  have 
done,  the  more  we  have  been  constrained  to  give.  The 
spiritual  wants  of  the  world  have  been  brought  to  light 
so  much  faster  than  we  have  been  prepared  to  supply 
them,  that  we  have  happily  been  able  to  think  little 
of  what  we  have  done,  in  the  prospect  of  the  prodigious 
field  of  labour  yet  to  be  occupied.  While  every  at- 
tempt to  raise  the  standard  of  Christian  liberality  and 
activity,  has  been,  upon  the  whole,  so  promptly  re- 
sponded to  by  the  great  body  of  the  faithful,  that  we 
are  impelled  to  the  conclusion  that  considerable  re- 
sources are  yet  to  be  explored,  and  to  the  holy  resolution 
that  every  succeeding  year  shall  continue  to  develope 
and  employ  them.  And  may  we  not  on  these  grounds 
w^arrantably  hope  that,  though  partial  relapses  may 
occasionally  mark  the  Missionary  spirit,  and  even  par- 
ticular Societies  fail,  the  next  generation  will  prosecute 
the  work  with  greater  ardour  than  the  present,  and  the 
generation  following  with  still  increased  zeal ;  and  that 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  309 

thus  the  devotedness  of  the  followers  of  Christ  will  ap- 
proximate nearer  and  nearer  to  the  elevated  standard  of 
his  blessed  Gospel  ? 

And  it  augurs  well  for  the  prosperity  of  a  cause 
when  it  allows  of  receiving,  and  actually  adopts,  from 
time  to  time,  the  improvements,  which,  being  human, 
it  indispensably  requires.  Many  an  institution,  full 
of  promise  at  first,  has  perished  through  want  of  com- 
pliance with  this  easy  but  important  condition.  Now 
the  history  of  Christian  Missions  is  a  record  of  suc- 
cessive corrections  and  improvements.  We  may  instance 
the  gradual  improvement  in  the  kind  of  instrumentahty 
which  they  have  employed.  To  say  nothing  of  the 
sword  alone ;  and  then  of  the  sword  and  the  symbol 
of  the  cross,  conjoined — for  these  belonged  to  a  too 
distant  period,  and  a  too  questionable  object — we  behold 
in  the  early  history  of  modern  Missions  the  strange 
conjunction  of  the  Missionary  and  a  royal  edict,  as  in 
the  Mission  sent  to  Lapland  by  Gustavus  Vasa  ;  the 
Missionary  and  commerce,  as  in  the  first  Danish  Mission 
to  Greenland  ;*  the  Missionary  and  the  promise  of  civil 
distinctions,  as  in  the  attempts  of  the  ]3utch  to  evan- 
gelize Ceylon.  And  even  in  the  early  history  of  our 
present  institutions,  it  was  considered  in  some  instances 
essential  to  success,  that  the  Missionary  should  be  pre- 
ceded by  civilization  rather  than  be  the  means  of  intro- 
ducing it ;  while  in  others,  perhaps,  there  was  too  great 
a  tendency  to  neglect  the  means  of  civilization,  even 
after  Christianity  had  obtained  a  footing.  The  Mis- 
sionary without  the  Bible,  has,  and  ever  must  be,  while 
Popery  remains  what  it  is,  the  great  defect  of  Catholic 
Missions  ;  and  yet  some  of  our  early  efforts  to  convert 
the  heathen  were  in  danger  of  suffering  from  the  same 
deficiency.  Then  came  the  full  conviction,  that  educa- 
tion, never  perhaps,  entirely  neglected,  should  uniformly 
accompany  the  preaching  of  the  Missionary,  and  form 

*  The  king  of  Denmark  ordered  a  lottery  in  favor  of  the  Green- 
land Mission  and  commerce. 


310  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

an  essential  part  of  his  regular  labours.  On  this  fol- 
lowed the  clear  perception,  that  if  the  Bible  was  to  be 
translated,  the  barbarian  to  be  civilized  and  instructed, 
and  a  Christian  community  built  up,  the  Missionary 
corps  should  be  "  picked  men  ;"  that  instead  of  rating 
their  requirements,  lower  than  those  of  the  ministry  at 
home,  the  holiest  and  ablest  men  the  Church  could 
send  forth  were  the  fittest.  And  then  came  the  convic- 
tion of  the  importance  of  training  and  employing  native 
Christian  agency — a  step,  perhaps,  more  pregnant  with 
good  to  the  Missionary  enterprise  than  even  the  increase 
of  our  own  Missionaries. 

During  all  this  time,  too,  the  friends  of  Missions  have 
been  learning  the  importance  of  system  in  their  pro- 
ceedings ;  while  the  wisdom  which  they  have  been 
acquiring  by  experience,  has  enabled  them  to  system- 
atize in  the  manner  best  adapted  to  their  ultimate 
object.  On  the  happy  reciprocal  influence  of  home  and 
foreign  activity ;  on  the  kind  of  preparation  necessary 
for  the  Missionary  work ;  on  the  right  selection  of  Mis- 
sionary stations  ;  and  on  the  mutual  adaptation  of  agents 
and  stations — on  these,  and  a  variety  of  correlative  par- 
ticulars, their  views  have  been  receiving  perpetual  cor- 
rection and  exp^sion.  And  it  may  not  be  out  of  place 
to  remark  here,  that  if  their  object  be  to  publish  the 
Gospel  every  where  in  the  shortest  time,  a  more  judi- 
cious selection  of  Missionary  posts  could  hardly  have 
been  made  than  that  which,  by  a  wisdom  higher  than 
their  own,  they  now  occupy.  Few  as  those  stations  are, 
compared  with  the  vast  field  of  henthenism,  they  are 
so  distributed  that  the  efforts  of  the  Church  must  soon 
be  heard  of  by  the  great  proportion  of  mankind,  and 
the  entire  w^orld  meantime  may  be  said  to  be  calling 
for  relief  within  view  and  hearing  of  the  Church. 

3.  Another  auspicious  fact  is,  that  at  such  a  con- 
juncture the  providence  of  God  should  furnish  so 
many  facilities  and  auxiliaries  for  the  prosecution  of 
the  work.  The  intercommunity  between  all  the  pro- 
vinces  of  the  Roman  empire    which  aided    the  early 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  311 

propagation  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  newly-formed 
power  of  the  press  which  came  in  aid  of  the  Reform- 
ation, though  parallel  facts,  are  not  to  be  compared 
with  the  subsidiary  aids  in  the  service  of  the  Gospel 
at  present.  What,  for  instance,  was  the  intercom- 
munity to  which  we  have  alluded,  compared  with  the 
facilities  afforded  now,  by  improved  navigation  alone, 
for  visiting  the  remotest  parts  of  the  earth  ?  Was 
the  central  position  of  Judea  a  favourable  circumstance 
for  the  first  diffusion  of  the  Gospel  ?  Britain  is  the 
Phoenicia  of  the  modern  world,  vvith  every  part,  of 
which  we  are  in  constant  communication.  Was  the 
early  propagation  of  Christianity  materially  promoted 
by  the  dispersion  of  the  Jews  among  the  surrounding 
nations  ?  Still  more  widely  are  British  Christians 
distributed  among  the  nations  now,  and  still  more 
effectually  therefore  have  they  the  means  of  con- 
tributing to  the  same  glorious  end.  Did  the  greatness 
of  the  Roman  empire  present  an  ample  field  for 
Missionary  exertion  ?  it  is  only  an  angle  of  the  field 
which  now  awaits  our  labour.  The  transmarine  pos- 
sessions of  Britain  have  an  area  of  2,200,000  square 
miles,  a  sea  coast  of  20,000  nautical  miles,  and  a 
population  of  120,000,000.  But  our  labours  are  not 
limited  to  these  ;  our  "  field  is  the  world."  Did  "the 
'gift  of  tongues"  conduce  to  the  primitive  diffusion 
of  the  Gospel  ?  The  power  of  the  press  has  come 
to  us  in  its  stead,  enabling  us  to  speak  to  the  nations 
in  a  manner  not  dependent  on  the  utterance  of  the 
speaker,  but  which  often  anticipates  his  arrival,  pre- 
pares the  minds  of  a  people  for  his  message,  and 
continues  to  echo  it,  after  his  departure,  from  gene- 
ration to  generation.  So  mighty  a  power  and  so  rich 
a  gift  is  this,  that  had  we  to  choose  between  it  and 
the  gift  of  tongues,  we  should  all  probably  give  it 
our  decided  preference.  In  a  single  year  it  multiplies 
copies  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  by  thousands  and 
hundreds  of  thousands ;  and,  if  need  be,  it  could 
multiply  them  in   the  same   time  by  as  many  millions. 


312  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

So  that  as  far  as  the  means  for  the  propagation  of 
the  Gospel  are  concerned,  the  Bible  Society  alone 
gives  us  a  decided  advantage  over  the  primitive  Church. 
Having  ''  rolled  a  noble  stream  of  truth  through  the 
earth,  it  requires  that  the  Missionary  should  stand 
upon  the  banks,  and  cry,  '  Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth, 
come  ye  to   the  waters.'  " 

Succgss_i&— seldom  or  never  the  result  of  a  single 
influence  ;  and  in  addition  to  the  complex  aid  to  the 
Missionary  enterprise  we  have  already  named,  w^e  may 
notice  the  favourable  influence  of  the  British  character. 
The  fact  of  our  success  in  arms,  our  love  of  regulated 
liberty,  and  our  priority  in  the  race  of  scientific  and 
civil  improvement  ;  our  national  enterprise,  and  the 
unparalleled  extent  of„aur__CDl£uiial_.possessions  ;  our 
reputation  for  commercial  integrity,  for  all  that  is 
humane,  generous,  and  noble  in  designs  of  benevolence  ; 
and  the  multiplicity  of  our  moral  means  for  accom- 
plishing them  ;  these,  and  many  other  elements  of 
individual  w^orth  and  national  greatness,  tend  to  invest 
our  Missionary  character  with  additional  weight  in 
every  part  of  the  earth. ^  How  far  the  general  diffusion 
of  the  English  language  and  literature  may  have  already 
subserved  the  JMissionary  object  we  know  not,  nor 
how  much  that  object  would  be  likely  to  be  promoted 
by  their  ultimate  universality  ;  but  it  is  clear  that 
if  any  language  is  likely  to  become  universal,  that 
language  is  the  English  ;  and  that,  considering  how 
deeply  most  of  our  early  standard  works  are  imbued 
with  a  religious  spirit,  none  could  have  fallen  in  with 
our  evangelical  design  more  directly  than  this. 

We  might  invite  special  observation  to  the  fact 
that  certain  influences  which  a  few  years  ago  were 
arrayed  not  against  the  Missionary  enterprise  merely, 
but  against  evangelical  religion  itself,  are  now  ranged 
on  their  side.  Science — chemistry  alone — destroys 
Polytheism,  root  and  branch.  All  the  superstitions 
of  the  world  involve  more  or  less  the  worship  of  the 
elements ;  but   chemistry   can   decompose   those   very 


THE  mSSIONARY  ENTERPRISR  313 

elements  themselves,  and  thus  leave  the  Hindoo  without 
his  gods  :  so  that  a  child  armed  with  a  microscope 
is  mightier,  and  more  to  be  dreaded  by  Brahminisra, 
than  Samson  by  the  Philistines,  when  he  slew  them 
"heaps  upon  heaps." 

The  aspect  which  the  national  government,  and  that 
mighty  power  called  public  opinion,  now  present  to 
the  cause  of  Missions,  exhibit  an  auspicious  contrast 
with  the  past.  There  was  a  time  when  the  English 
Missionary  in  India  was  indebted  for  protection  to 
the  Danish  crown.  There  was  a  time  when  the  cry 
was  raised,  for  anti-missionary  purposes,  that  our  empire 
in  India  icas  an  empire  of  opinion^  and  when  all  the 
force  of  that  empire  was  against  us.  There  was  a 
time  when  the  press  was  kept  in  spasms  of  activity 
by  the  Christian  advocates  of  heathenism  for  India  ; 
when  pamphlet  after  pamphlet  proclaimed  their  vene- 
ration for  the  ancient  Hindoo  pantheon,  and  their 
rage  at  any  mark  of  contempt  shown  to  it,  as  if  an 
affront  had  been  offered  to  a  valued  friend,  which 
they  were  bound  most  indignantly  to  resent.  But  let 
us  mark,  in  a  single  instance,  the  indication  of  a 
change.  "  It  is  a  happy  circumstance,"  says  the 
"  Friend  of  India,"  "  that  Providence  has  placed  so 
great  a  number  of  the  Burmese  provinces  under  the 
sway  of  Britain,  in  which  the  Missionaries"  (driven 
from  Ava  and  Rangoon,  where  a  cruel  persecutiorr 
has  been  raised  against  the  native  converts,)  "  are  at 
liberty  to  carry  on  their  benevolent  labours  without 
hindrance.  It  is  not  a  little  singular  that  whereas 
the  Burmese  Mission  grew  out  of  the  persecution  of 
the  British  Government  thirty  years  ago,  which  con- 
strained the  Missionaries  to  seek  for  spheres  of  labour 
beyond  the  reach  of  British  interference ;  at  present, 
the  salvation  of  the  Burmese  Mission  is  owing,  under 
God,  to  the  protection  which  that  same  Government, 
more  alive  to  its  Christian  obligations,  is  enabled  to 
afford  in  its  conquered  provinces." 

Li  addition  to  all  these  auxiliaries  to  the  cause  of 
27 


314  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

Missions,  we  might  point  attention  to  two  to  which 
we  have  ah'eady  incidentally  adverted, — to  education, 
and  native  agency.  By  the  former  of  these  we  are 
comparatively  foregoing  partial  and  immediate  success, 
for  the  sake  of  preparing  with  much  greater  certainty, 
and  to  an  incomparably  wider  extent,  the  future 
overthrow  of  idolatry,  and  a  consequent  way  for  the 
march  of  the  truth  over  its  ruins.  And,  by  the  latter, 
we  are  not  only  taking  to  the  converted  heathen  the 
fruits  of  the  tree  of  life,  but,  in  a  sense,  are  planting 
the  tree  in  their  soil,  and  leaving  it  to  grow  and 
flourish  among  them. 

Now  if  our  remarks  on  Missionary  progress  proved 
that  there  is  more  of  a  Missionary  spirit  in  the  Church 
at  present  than  has  ever  existed  since  primitive  times, 
our  observations  on  Missionary  facilities  tend  to  show 
that  our  amount  of  means  for  the  conversion  of  the 
world  is  considerably  greater  than  existed  even  during 
those  times.  All  the  weapons  of  victory  which  they 
possessed,  with  the  exception  of  miracles,  are  at  our 
disposal ;  and  others  of  equal  and  even  superior  power 
are  added  to  them.  Some  of  these,  indeed,  are  chiefly 
in  the  service  of  the  world,  but  they  exist  for  the 
Church.  Others  were  obstacles,  but  have  become 
auxiliaries.  Indeed,  whatever  designates  Britain  as 
the  country  destined  by  Providence  to  take  the  lead  in 
works  of  beneficence,  must  be  regarded  as  an  encou- 
ragement to  the  Missionary  enterprise ;  and  to  a  Church 
alive  to  this  object,  all  things  around  are  ready  and 
offer  themselves  as  an  apparatus  for  its  successful 
prosecution. 

4.  But  not  only  is  the  Missionary  spirit  in  existence, 
in  progress,  and  surrounded  by  numerous  and  powerful 
auxiliaries ;  it  has  been  crowned  with  signal  success. 
Had  only  a  single  instance  of  usefulness  attended  its 
endeavours,  even  that  would  have  been  sufficient  to 
redeem  the  enterprise  from  mere  hopelessness.  But 
the  preceding  Part  contains  abundant  evidence  to  show 
that  our  success  has   been   fully  proportioned  to  our 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRIS'E.  315 

efforts ;  that  advantages  have  flown  from  our  activity 
which  nothing  else  could  have  conferred ;  and  that  the 
glorious  result  has  abundantly  exceeded  the  most  san- 
guine expectations  of  those  with  whom  the  enterprise 
began. 

We  will  here  add  only  two  remarks,  that  great  as 
our  Missionary  success  has  been  already,  the  Christian 
Church  is  filled  with  the  expectation  of  seeing  greater 
things  than  these.  While  a  sentiment  of  despondency 
and  vague  apprehension  hangs  over  the  regions  of  false 
religion,  in  the  Christian  Church  the  present  is  an  era 
of  expectation  and  hope ;  and  the  influence  of  hope 
contributes  not  a  little  to  the  accomplishment  of  its 
own  predictions.  Besides  which,  the  friends  of  Chris- 
tian Missions  are  entertaining  a  confident  persuasion 
of  the  approach  of  a  period  when  the  influence  of  the 
Spirit  will  descend  with  much  greater  eflicacy,  and  their 
success  will  be  far  greater  than  at  present,  in  proportion 
to  the  measure  of  their  exertion.  They  deem  it '-'  rea- 
sonable to  believe,"  says  Foster,  in  the  admirable 
Discourse  already  adverted  to,  ''  that  when  once  a  cer- 
tain point  of  success  has  been  attained,  the  mere  accu-, 
raulation  of  power  and  influence  on  the  side  of  truthi 
will  impart  an  irresistible  momentum  and  a  greatly] 
accelerated  velocity  to  rehgious  principles,  so  that  the' 
last  concLuest  of  Christianity  shall  be  accomplished  in 
an  incomparably  shorter  period  than  has  been  occupied^ 
in  achieving  its  first  successes."  Judging  from  the 
past,  they  think  it  likely  that  when  the  native  mind  of 
a  populous  heathen  land  begins  to  awake  and  act,  it 
will  act  in  masses  ;  that  the  law  of  sympathy,  becoming 
subservient  to  a  higher  influence,  the  "  wind  will  blow 
where  it  listeth,"  so  that  no  one  will  be  able  to  say 
whence  the  impulse  came,  or  what  is  the  direction  it 
will  take.  Thus,  may  "a  nation  be  born  in  a  day." 
'^  Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  the  plow- 
man shall  overtake  the  reaper,  and  the  treader  of  grapes 
him  that  soweth  seed." 

The  conversion  of  many  parts  of  the  earth,   like  that 


316  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

of  Polynesia,  will  probably  be  effected  with  a  rapidity 
which  will  take  even  the  Church  by  surprise.  And 
thus  it  will  be  seen  that  "  God  had  prepared  the  people, 
for  the  thing  was  done  suddenly  ;"  and  "he  shaU  bear 
the  glory." 


SECTION  V. 

EVANGELICAL    ENCOURAGEMENT    TO   PKOMOTE    THE   MISSIONARY 
ENTERPRISE. 

But  our  great  fund  of  Missionary  encouragement  is 
evangelical,  being  derived  exclusively  from  the  word  of 
God.  And  so  animating  and  ample  is  this,  that  were 
all  the  others  not  only  wanting,  but  converted  into  so 
many  sources  of  apprehension,  we  should  yet  rely  on 
the  ultimate  success  of  our  endeavours. 

1.  In  order,  however,  that  we  may  not  retread  the 
ground  we  have  already  passed  over,  nor  open  too  wide 
a  field  for  fresh  observation,  we  shall  here  confine  our- 
selves to  three  specific  grounds  of  encouragement. 
The  first  of  these  consists  of  the  fact  that  the  Missionary 
enterprise  has  to  receive  the  benefit  of  a  vast  amount 
of  prayer,  as  yet  unanswered,  in  its  behalf.  It  was  pre- 
dicted of  Solomon,  as  typical  of  Christ,  "  prayer  also 
shall  be  made  for  him  continually."  And  it  is  cheering 
to  reflect,  that  in  the  present  day  there  is  a  sense  in 
which  the  prophecy  has  received,  literally,  its  evange- 
lical accomplishment.  "  Last  evening,"  wrote  a  Mis- 
sionary from  China,  a  few  years  ago,  "a  small  party 
of  the  disciples  of  Jesus  held  a  meeting  for  prayer  in 
my  rooms,  in  behalf  of  the  heathen  around,  and  for  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  throughout  the  world.  In  this  land 
of  the  rising  sun,  we  may  probably  be  considered  as 
beginning  that  series  of  prayer-meetings  which  are  kept 
up  all  around  the   world  on  the   first  Monday   of  the 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPEISE.  317 

month  ;  a  chain  of  prayer,  beginning  at  the  farthest 
east,  and  carried  round  successively  as  the  sun  advances 
to  the  farthest  west  in  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  ocean, 
and  thus  continued  for  twenty-four  hours  monthly." 

Now  it  is  only  to  pursue  this  calculation,  and  to  sup- 
pose that  wherever  there  are  Christians  to  pray  monthly 
in  public  for  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  there  are  some 
to  pray  daily  in  private  for  the  same  object,  and  then  we 
are  brought  to  the  delightful  conclusion,  that  prayer 
is  made  for  him  continually  ;  that  as  the  aged  believer, 
like  David,  breathes  out  his  last  prayer  for  the  glory 
of  his  reign,  another  generation  is  just  beginning  to  lisp, 
''  Thy  kingdom  come  ;"  and  as  the  Christians  of  one 
province  are  rising  from  their  knees  before  the  throne 
of  grace,  the  Christians  of  another  province  are  just 
beginning  to  take  up  the  language  of  supplication  for 
Christ  ;  and  thus  a  chain  of  prayer,  beginning  in  the 
farthest  east,  is  carried  round  with  the  sun  to  the  far- 
thest west  in  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  through  all  the 
hours  of  time. 

And  how  much  more  pleasing  does  this  reflection 
become  when  we  add  to  it  the  thought,  that  of  all  the 
prayers  which  are  thus  offered  for  the  reign  of  Christ, 
making  one  unbroken  strain  of  supplication,  not  one 
ever  has  been  or  can  be  lost.  Is  it  true  that  every  sin 
committed  by  his  enemies  is  noticed  by  a  God  of  un- 
spotted holiness  .''  that  every  transgression  adds  some- 
thing to  the  treasures  of  his  wrath  ;  and  that  when  the 
cup  of  vengeance  is  full,  he  pours  it  forth  on  the  heads 
of  the  guilty  ? — As  certainly  true  is  it  that  every  prayer 
of  faith  offered  by  his  people  in  behalf  of  his  Son,  is 
noticed  by  a  God  of  infinite  love  ;  that  every  such 
prayer  adds  something  to  the  treasures  of  his  grace  ; 
and  that  when  these  treasures  have  accumulated  to  a 
certain  amount,  he  pours  them  forth  upon  the  Church 
and  the  world.  It  is  as  certainly  true  that  at  the  very 
moment  when  such  a  prayer  is  offered,  in  that  very 
moment  he  answers  it  in  his  Divine  intention,  though 
he  may  wisely  delay  for  a  time  to  answer  it  really.  The 
27* 


318  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

suppliant  himself  may  forget  his  own  supplication,  or 
may  despair  of  obtaining  an  answer  ;  but  He  is  still 
mindful  of  it.  And  however  obscure  the  suppliant, 
He  prizes  it.  It  is  prayer  for  his  Son,  and  as  such,  it 
is  music  in  his  ear,  of  which  he  loses  not  a  single  note. 
It  is  a  prayer  for  the  coming  of  his  kingdom,  and  as 
such  he  places  it  among  the  perfumed  supplications 
already  offered  by  the  saints  of  past  generations  ;  he 
places  it  among  the  last  aspirations  breathed  by  "  David, 
the  son  of  Jesse,"  and  of  every  ancient  worthy  ;  among 
the  mighty  prayers  which  ascended  from  the  fires  of 
the  early  martyrs  ;  among  the  loud  cries  of  those  whose 
souls  are  heard  from  under  the  altar ;  among  the  earnest 
entreaties  of  the  wide  creation,  which  sighs  to  be  deliv- 
ered from  the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the  glorious 
liberty  of  the  sons  of  God.  It  is  a  prayer  for  the 
salvation  of  a  world  which  he  loves ;  and,  with  delight, 
he  beholds  it  flow  into  a  channel  in  which  a  stream 
of  prayer  has  been  for  ages  flowing  and  accumulating 
without  a  moment's  pause,  and  which  shall  finally  over- 
flow and  pour  forth  a  healing  flood  of  heavenly  grace 
over  the  whole  earth.  If  the  success  which  has  hitherto 
attended  our  Missionary  efforts  is  to  be  regarded  as 
sent  partly  in  answer  to  prayer,  an  indefinite  amount 
of  success  is  yet  to  come,  if  only  to  complete  that 
answer ;  for  that  prayer  has  aimed  at  nothing  less  than 
the  salvation  of  the  world.  And  our  partial  success 
proves  that  it  will  come ;  proves  that,  like  the  vapour 
which  the  earth  sends  up  to  heaven  to  be  returned 
again  in  fruitful  showers,  the  supplications  of  the 
Church  form  a  cloud  which  is  at  this  moment  suspended 
over  the  whole  field  of  moral  cultivation,  ready,  at 
the  word  of  God,  to  discharge  its  fertilizing  contents. 
"  Ye  that  love  the  Lord,  keep  not  silence." 

2.  But  the  efforts  of  Christians  to  evangelize  the 
world  have  also  to  receive  the  benefit  of  many  a  yet 
unfulfilled  promise  and  prediction  of  Divine  influence. 
This  is  a  source  of  encouragement  additional  to  the 
former ;  for  it  both  anticipates  our  prayers,  and  directs 
us  to  the  object  at  which  they  should  aim. 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE,  319 

We  are  taught  to  believe,  in  the  word  of  God,  that 
for  every  degree  of  spiritual  success  we  are  entirely- 
dependent  on  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  But,  in 
order  that  this  doctrine  might  tend  to  animate  our 
efforts,  as  well  as  to  render  us  humble,  we  are  also 
assured  that  a  measure  of  his  influence  shall  accompany 
every  scriptural  effort  we  make,  and  be  imparted  in 
answer  to  every  prayer  of  faith  we  present.  The  whole 
system  of  religious  means,  indeed,  is  divinely  appointed, 
and  expressly  intended,  as  that  in  immediate  connexion 
with  which  He  is  to  act ;  and  all  the  spiritual  good 
already  accom.plished  has  been  effected,  so  far  as  we 
can  ascertain,  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  this  connexion. 
But  we  are  taught,  also,  that  this  gracious  arrangement 
still  leaves  him  at  liberty  to  exceed  that  assurance  as 
he  pleases.  Indeed,  we  are  taught  this  by  the  manner 
in  which  he  often  fulfils  that  very  assurance  ;  for  while 
he  never  disappoints  the  just  expectations  which  it  has 
excited  in  his  people,  the  circumstances  attending  their 
fulfilment  exhibit  the  endless  diversity  of  unconfined 
and  unconfinable  power.  Hence  the  reason  of  the 
language,  "  In  the  morning  sow  thy  seed,  and  in  the 
evening  withhold  not  thy  hand ;  for  thou  knovvest  not 
whether  shall  prosper,  this  or  that." 

But  while  we  are  to  regulate  our  expectations  as  to 
the  success  of  particular  efforts,  we  are  animated  with 
confidence  as  to  the  final  success  of  the  entire  work. 
If  it  is  not  given  us  to  assign  the  manner  or  the  degree 
in  which  particular  instances  of  success  will  take  place, 
it  is  only,  perhaps,  that  our  confidence  may  be  more 
undivided  and  fixed  on  the  success  destined  to  crown 
the  great  system  of  means  taken  as  a  whole.  For  the 
substantial  import  of  numerous  Divine  predictions  is, 
that  the  Spirit  shall  be  poured  out  from  on  high ;  that 
he  shall  be  poured  out  upon  all  flesh  ;  and  that  then 
the  wilderness  will  be  a  fruitful  field,  and  the  fruitful 
field  be  counted  for  a  forest.  Now,  as  he  uniformly 
operates  for  the  truth,  or  in  connexion  with  it ;  and 
as  the  object  of  the  Missionary   enterprise  is   the  uni- 


320  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

versal  difFiision  of  the  truth,  we  are  encouraged  to  look 
for  the  fulfilment  of  these  predictions  in  the  success  of 
this  enterprise.  And  since  the  only  way  in  which  he 
has  ever  acted  as  if  he  had  forgotten  his  promise,  is,  by 
doing  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  which  it  had 
led  us  to  ask  or  think,  we  are  encouraged  to  hope  for 
a  period  when  the  amount  of  his  influence  will  be  much 
greater  than  at  present,  as  compared  with  the  amount 
of  our  activity.  But  if  such  a  period  be  in  reserve,  it 
must  be  nearer  now  than  at  any  preceding  moment ; 
and  if  any  signs  are  to  indicate  its  approach,  we  may 
surely  recognize  some  in  the  returning  anxiety  and 
activity  of  the  Church  for  the  salvation  of  the  world, 
and  in  the  preparation  which  the  world  exhibits  for 
some  great  moral  change.  And  what  else  will  be  neces- 
sary but  the  arrival  of  such  a  period  for  the  consum- 
mation of  all  our  Missionary ,  designs  ?  Only  let  the 
Church  behold  the  fulfilment  of  the  promises  and  pre- 
dictions which  relate  to  the  impending  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  the  work  will  be  as  good  as  accom- 
plished. The  three  thousand  souls  added  to  the  Church 
in  one  day  by  the  preaching  of  St.  Peter,  would  then 
prove  to  have  been  intended  as  a  mere  earnest  of  the 
rapid  progress  which  the  faith  should  make  universally. 
Like  the  first  rumour  of  victory,  the  news  of  salvation 
should  seem  to  fly  swifter  than  the  speed  of  the  mes- 
sengers sent  to  proclaim  it ;  and  wherever  proclaimed, 
the  people  should  bow  before  it. 

3.  And  thenj_finally,  all  qiij:_  scriptural  activity  for 
the  diflusion  oithe  Gospel  is  in  obedience  to  the  will 
of  Christ,  and  its  final  success  is  secured  by  the  fact 
of  his  mediatorial  reign.  The  essential  connexion  of 
these  two  propositions  was  established  by  Christ  him- 
self, when  he  said,  "All  power  is  given  unto  me,  in 
heaven  and  in  earth.  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all 
nations  ;"  intimating,  that  not  only  is  the  great  system 
of  universal  providence  committed  to  his  hands,  but 
that  it  is  committed  to  him  expressly  that  it  may  be 
made  subservient  to  the  successful  diffusion  and  eventual 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  321 

triumph  of  his  Gospel.  As  if,  having  entered  the  spacious 
treasury  of  God,  and  taken  account  of  all  its  infinite 
stores ;  having  reckoned  up  all  the  orders  of  heavenly 
intelligences,  and  marked  their  respective  capacities  for 
his  service ;  having  looked  down  through  all  the  ages  of 
time,  counted  its  generations  and  numbered  its  events,  he 
had  said,  x\ll  these  shall  be  harmonized,  combined  into  a 
system,  and  made  contributory  to  the  one  object  of  hu- 
man salvation.  Vast  as  is  the  space  they  occupy,  there 
is  not  a  point  in  it  which  shall  not  in  some  way  be  im- 
pressed whh  the  signs  of  their  activity ;  a  theatre  less  ample 
would  not  be  adequate  to  the  developement  of  my  plan. 
Diversified  as  are  the  kinds  and  degrees  of  influence 
they  are  calculated  to  exert,  and  even  hostile  as  many 
of  them  are  to  my  purpose  and  to  each  other,  there  is 
not  one  of  them  all  which  cannot,  and  which  shall  not, 
yield  its  proportion  of  willing  or  unwilling  service. 
And  distant  as  is  the  period  when  the  last  soul  shall 
be  saved,  there  shall  not  be  a  moment  through  the 
whole  of  the  mighty  interval  in  which  all  these  count- 
less and  far-reaching  agencies  shall  not  be  gradually 
concentrating  their  forces,  and  pointing,  more  and  -more 
directly,  to  that  grand  consummation.  "All  power  is 
given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth ;  go  ye,  therefore, 
and  preach  the  Gospel." 

The  connexion  of  these  encouraging  views  with  the 
preceding  parts,  as  well  as  their  practical  application, 
are  direct  and  important.  The  fitcts  and  sentiments  of 
which  these  parts  consist,  are  themselves  encourage- 
ments to  Missionary  exertion  ;  and  as  such,  they  natu- 
rally fall  in  with  our  present  train  of  remark,  and  mul- 
tiply our  incentives  to  increased  activity. 

For  instance,  is  it  a  slender  encouragement  to  those 
who  are  embarked  in  the  Missionary  enterprise  to  find 
that  the  Christian  Church  is  constructed  expressly  with  a 
view  to  that  great  object  ?  Should  it  afford  us  only  slight 
encouragement  to  find  that  the  aggressive  principles 
of  such  a  church  were  shown  to  be  practicable  as  soon 
as  they   were  made  known,  and   were  attended  with 


322  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

unexampled  success  as  soon  as  they  were  put  into 
activity  ?  Ought  it  to  yield  us  only  small  encourage- 
ment to  find  that  the  tenor  of  prophecy,  even  to  its  last 
words,  tells  of  Missionary  labours  and  of  a  triumphant 
Gospel  ?  Or  ought  it  to  be  regarded  as  auspicious  only 
in  a  very  slight  degree  that,  as  far  as  we  have  acted 
under  the  influence  of  these  encouragements  in  modern 
times,  they  have  proved  authentic  ?  that  our  Missionary 
usefulness  has  been  fully  proportioned  to  our  endea- 
vours ?  and  that  advantages  have  flown  from  it  both 
of  a  kind  and  a  degree  on  which  the  most  sanguine  of 
those  with  whom  It  commenced  had  never  calculated  ? 
And,  considering  the  obstacles  which  stood  in  the 
way  of  this  success,  and  the  remarkable  manner  in 
which  many  of  them  have  been  removed,  how  con- 
siderately and  kindly  our  impatience  has  been  rebuked, 
our  errors  corrected,  and  our  ignorance  instructed ; 
how  opportunely  suitable  agents  have  been  raised  up 
for  occupying  peculiar  spheres  of  usefulness  ;  and  how 
unexpectedly  aid  has  come  in  from  the  most  unlikely 
quarters,  and  enemies  and  apparent  evils  been  convert- 
ed into  valuable  auxiliaries  and  friends  ;  are  we  not 
constrained  to   trace  it  to  the  glorious  fact,   that  ''  the 

God   of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ hath  put  all 

things  under  his  feet,  and  gave  him  to  be  the  head  over 
all  things  to  the  Church,  which  is  his  body,  the  fulness 
of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all  ?" 

We  commenced  the  present  Part  by  showing  that 
the  history  of  Christianity,  from  the  earliest  times  to 
the  present,  is  replete  with  encouragement  to  attempt 
its  further  propagation  ;  that  even  in  the  first  age  of 
its  existence,  when  it  was  the  mark  at  which  every 
weapon  human  and  infernal  was  levelled,  each  of  its 
conflicts  was  a  splendid  victory  ;  that  even  its  moral 
weakness  has  been  too  strong  for  barbarian  might ; 
that  its  false  friends  have  never  been  able  to  corrupt 
it  beyond  its  power  of  self-renovation  ;  nor  its  avowed 
enemies  to  assail  it,  even  at  its  greatest  disadvantage, 
without  finding  to  their  cost  that  it  is  still  as  vigorous 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  323 

and  aggressive  as  ever.  Now  after  all  this  accumulated 
evidence  that  Christ  is  invested  with  supreme  power, 
and  that  he  wields  it  for  the  protection  and  progress  of 
his  Gospel,  can  we  believe  that  he  is  the  same  yester- 
day, to-day,  and  for  ever,  without  feeling  that  our  cause 
is  invulnerable,  and  its  triumphant  issue  secure  ? 

On  taking  a  survey  of  the  pohtical  world  in  its  rela- 
tion to  the  Church,  we  have  seen  that  all  the  rest  of/ 
the  globe  seems  placed  by  Providence  at  the  disposal 
of  Christendom  ;  that  of  all  the  nations  of  Christendom, 
those  which  are  especially  distinguished  with  political 
influence  over  the  Pagan  and  Mahometan  regions  are 
the  Reformed,  and  anti-papal  powers ;  and  that  of 
these  powers,  Britain  and  America,  the  only  Pro- 
testant nations  capable,  at  present,  of  becoming  the 
religious  Teachers  of  the  world,  are  the  nations  to 
which  has  been  given  the  political  command  of  those 
regions.  Now,  can  we  mark  these  "  wheels  within  a 
wheel,"  can  we  account  for  these  imperia  in  imperio^ 
without  resolving  them  into  the  sublime  truth  that  the 
Lord  reigneth  ?  Or  can  we  believe  that  this  threefold 
collocation  of  the  various  parts  of  the  world  around  the 
Missionary  portion  of  the  Church,  results  from  his  medi- 
atorial arrangements,  without  hearing  the  loud  and  en- 
couraging call  which  arises  from  it  to  "  go  forwards  ?" 

Besides  which,  the  moral  aspect  of  the  mass  cf 
mankind,  as  we  have  seen,  presents  encouragement  to 
the  same  effect.  Not  only  is  the  heathen  world  ar- 
ranged, in  a  sense,  around  the  Church,  but  its  state  is 
that  of  feebleness,  exhaustion,  and  desire  of  relief. 
Without  knowing  what  is  the  nature  of  its  malady, 
it  is  sick  at  heart,  and  panting  for  a  change.  Now  if 
its  political  position  in  relation  to  the  Church  evinces 
the  provident  activity  of  the  reign  of  Christ,  is  not 
that  evidence  materially  increased  when  viewed  in  con- 
nexion with  its  moral  condition  ?  It  is  not  only 
brought  to  our  door,  but  brought  at  a  moment  whea 
it  is  famishing.  It  is  not  merely  placed  within  our 
reach,  but  is  actually  fallen  at  our  threshold.     Could 


324  ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

any  conjunction  of  circumstances  afford  us  a  better 
opportunity  of  presenting  the  Gospel,  or  a  more  en- 
couraging prospect  of  its  favourable  reception  ? 

And  should  it  not  add  something  to  our  hopes  that 
this  happy  juncture  has  arrived  at  the  very  moment 
when  the  Church,  after  neglecting  the  world  for  centu- 
ries, is  awakening  to  its  Missionary  obligations  ?  Is 
not  such  a  coincidence  indicative  of  providential  ar- 
rangement, and  worthy  of  it  ?  Is  it  nothing  that  the 
commencement  of  the  Missionary  enterprise  should 
have  proved  like  the  bursting  forth  of  a  fountain  of 
internal  prosperity  in  the  Church  itself  ?  Is  it  nothing 
that  Missionary,  Bible,  and  Educational  Societies 
should  have  arisen  precisely  in  that  order  of  succession 
which  the  nature  of  the  case  required  ?  Should  it  pass 
unnoticed  that  all  the  great  discoveries  and  improvements 
of  science  are  more  or  less  auxiliary  to  Missionary  pur- 
poses ?  and  even  if  no  other  encouraging  consideration 
could  be  adduced,  ought  not  the  single  fact  that  God  has 
smiled  on  our  efforts,  to  be  sufficient  of  itself  to  induce 
us  to  proceed  ?  Ought  not  the  firm  persuasion  that 
there  are  many  who,  by  the  blessing  of  God  on  our 
instrumentality,  have  been  rescued  from  the  depths  of 
heathenism,  and  who  are  at  this  moment  swelling  the 
chorus  of  the  blessed  above,  to  animate  our  zeal,  and 
redouble  our  endeavours  ? 

But  the  great  evangelical  fund  of  encouragement 
remains  to  be  considered.  Does  the  effectual  fervent 
prayer  of  a  righteous  man  avail  much  ?  The  Mission- 
ary enterprise  inherits  the  prayers  of  the  entire  Church. 
All  the  redeemed  in  heaven  have  prayed  for  it  ;  and 
it  engages  their  sympathies  still.  And,  what  is  infi- 
nitely more,  it  enjoys  the  intercession  of  the  Great 
Advocate  himself.  Is  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
essential  to  INIissionary  success  ?  Drops  of  the  coming 
shower  have  already  fallen  ;  and  still  the  cloud  enlarges 
and  descends,  and  gives  signs  of  the  impending  blessing. 
Ls  it  necessary  that  infinite  faithfulness  and  power 
sljould  show  themselves   interested   in   it  in  order   to 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  325 

a'ssure  us  of  its  success  ?  All  power  in  heaven  and  in 
earth  is  given  to  Christ  to  render  the  success  of  his 
Gospel  certain.  The  present  evangelical  economy  ex- 
ists for  it.  All  the  machinery  of  providence  is  con- 
structed to  advance  it.  The  wo rjd  itself  is  maintained 
only  as  the  theatre  for  its  progress.  Nature,  provi- 
dence, and  grace,  are  not  three  independent  departments 
of  the  Divine  government.  Tliey  are  only  concentric 
circles  revolving  around  one  centre — the  Cross  of  Christ. 
For  the  diftusion  of  its  influence  Christy  himself  reigns, 
and  harmonizes  and  administers  all  their  revolutions. 
To  this  object,  nothing  within  the  vast  circumference 
of  his  government  is  indifferent.  Nothing  is  too  great 
to  serve  it,  or  too  minute  to  promote  it.  Nothing 
opposed  to  it  is  allowed  to  triumph  ;  nothing  friendly 
to  it  can  fail  to  yield  its  mite  of  auxiliary  influence. 
Nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  is  allowed  to  quit  the  stage 
of  activity,  without  leaving  behind  some  tribute  to  its 
claims. 

And  are  these  our  encouragements  to  prosecute  the 
Missionary  enterprise  ?  What  else  means  the  mediato- 
rial sovereign  by  associating  the  command  to  proclaim 
his  Gospel,  with  the  announcement  that  all  power  is  his  ? 
What  else  means  the  sublime  declaration  that  all  things 
are  by  him,  and  for  him  ?  What  else  mean  the  con- 
spicuous and  undeniable  facts  that  only  two  or  three 
thrones  of  paganism  are  left  ;  that  a  hand  mighter  than 
Samson's  should  be  laid  upon  these  ;  that  the  Gospel, 
after  surviving  a  thousand  conflicts,  should  be  seen  ex- 
hibiting the  vigour  and  activity  of  its  youth }  and  that 
the  Church,  in  awaking  to  its  diffusion  should  have 
opened  a  new  source  of  internal  happiness  and  prosperity 
for  itself  ? 

Are  these  our  encouragements  to  expect  success  ? 
Then  "be  silent,  O  all  flesh,  before  the  Lord  ;  for  he 
is  raised  up  out  of  his  holy  habhation."  Be  hushed  the 
language  of  complaint  and  unbelief;  be  silenced  the 
taunts  of  infidelity,  inquiring.  Where  is  the  promise  of 
his  coming  ^  be  stilled  the  din  of  opposition  to  the  pro- 
28 


326  ENCOUBAGETirENTS  TO  PROSECUTE,  ETC. 

gress  of  his  cause,  and  the  shouts  of  frantic  superstition 
in  every  idolatrous  temple.  Then,  "the  idols  he  will 
utterly  abolish."  Kalee,  Vishnu,  Juggernaut,  your 
shrines  are  doomed,  your  days  are  numbered,  your  end 
dravveth  nigh.  Then  it  is  the  voice  of  him  that  crieth 
in  the  wilderness  which  we  hear — "  Prepare  ye  the  way 
of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in  the  desert  a  highway  for 
our  God.  Every  valley  shall  be  exalted,  and  every 
mountain  and  hill  shall  be  made  low  ;  and  the  crooked 
shall  be  made  straight,  and  the  rough  places  plain,  and 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed,  and  all  flesh 
shall  see  it  together."  Islands  of  the  sea,  ye  shall  not 
wait  in  vain  for  his  law.  Africa,  there  is  hope  in  thine 
end ;  the  hands  of  all  thy  children  shall  soon  be  stretch- 
ed out  to  God.  All  thy  myriads,  India,  shall  rejoice 
in  a  true  incarnation,  "  God  manifest  in  the  flesh." 
And  China,  thy  only  walls  shall  be  salvation,  and  all 
thy  gates  praise.  All  for  which  the  Saviour  endured 
the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  all  for  which  the  past 
has  been  preparing,  and  which  the  present  is  needing 
and  desiring — all  shall  be  accomplished.  "  The  great 
trumpet"  has  been  blown  ;  its  reverberations  of  mercy 
roll  round  the  earth,  and  the  world  shall  hear  it  and 
hve. 

And  are  these  our  encouragements  to  proceed  ?  Then 
our  course  is  obvious,  our  duty  clear.  At  the  most 
dim  and  distant  prospect  of  such  scenes  the  ancient 
prophets  were  rapt  into  an  ecstacy  of  delight.  With 
encouragements  incomparably  less  than  we  possess,  an 
aposde  was  inspired  with  a  confidence  of  success  which 
nothing  could  dismay,  and  with  an  ardour  of  activity 
which  nothing  could  quench.  For  us  then  to  decline 
the  Missionary  cause,  or  to  look  coldly  on  its  progress, 
is  to  merit  the  execration  of  the  world  we  are  neglecting, 
and  of  the  Church  we  are  refusing  to  assist.  But  scrip- 
turally  to  aid  it,  is  to  place  ourselves  in  harmony  with 
all  the  purposes  of  God,  and  to  hasten  the  recovery  of 
the  world  to  Christ. 


PART  IV. 


OBJECTIONS    TO    THE    MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE,    OR 
PLEAS  AND  EXCUSES  FOR  NEGLECTING  IT. 


So  obvious  are  the  obligations  of  the  Missionary  Enter- 
prise, and  the  encouragements  to  discharge  them  so 
numerous  and  strong,  that,  if  facts  did  not  loudly  pro- 
claim the  contrary,  we  might  well  believe  it  impossible 
for  a  single  objection  to  be  raised  against  it.  We  know, 
however,  that  no  degree  of  excellence,  even  when  ac- 
credited from  Heaven,  has  ever  proved  sufficient  to  ex- 
empt a  cause  entirely  from  opposition  ;  and  that  its  suc- 
cess, whether  great  or  little,  has  never  been  owing  to 
any  lack  of  difficulties  feared  by  its  professed  friends, 
or  created  by  its  avowed  foes.  Indeed,  the  loftier  its 
aims,  and  the  greater  the  spirituality  of  its  character  and 
claims,  the  more  numerous  the  obstacles  likely  to  be  cast 
in  the  way  of  its  progress.  The  Missionary  cause,  then, 
by  aiming  at  the  most  unworldly  ends,  and  by  taking  the 
whole  earth  for  the  sphere  of  its  activity,  may  be  ex- 
pected to  exasperate  every  form  of  irreligious  hostility, 
and  to  be  encountered  by  every  kind  of  objection. 
And  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  ignorant  are  al- 
ways ready  to  accept  such  objections,  however  futile, 
as  so  many  unanswerable  arguments  against  it  ;  that  the 
indolent  are  glad  to  construe  them  into  a  full  discharge 


328  OBJECTIONS  TO 

from  all  activity  in  its  behalf ;  that  the  timid  are  for 
waiting  until  they  are  all  silenced,  and  the  ground  com- 
])letely  cleared  of  difficulties ;  and  that,  however  often 
they  have  been  met  already,  error  is  likely  to  revive  and 
repeat  them  again  with  the  lips  of  each  succeeding  gene- 
ration, it  is  by  no  means  supererogatory  or  unimportant 
that  such  objections  should  be  obviated  again  ;  especially, 
too,  Vv^hen  nearly  all  of  them  may  be  so  easily  converted 
into  arguments  for  serving  the  very  object  they  were 
intended  to  weaken  or  destroy. 

I.  Now,  if  we  propose  to  notice  these  objections* 
in  order,  the  first,  perhaps,  which  demands  our  attention 
is  that  which  would  represent  the  IMissionary  Enterprise 
as  unnecessary.  According  to  the  objector, — The 
heathen  are  compartively  safe  already  ;  their  ignorance 
of  the  Gospel  is  involuntary  ;  they  are  a  law^  unto  them- 
selves ;  they  will  not  be  judged  by  the  high  require- 
ments of  the  Bible,  but  by  the  light  of  nature  ;  their 
eternal  destiny,  therefore,  is  far  from  hopeless  ;  and  to 
pronounce  it  otherwise  is  uncharitable  and  cruel. 

To  this  representation  we  should  object,  1.  That  it 
overlooks  the  true  condition  of  mankind  in  relation  to 
the  moral  government  of  God.  It  forgets  the  moment- 
ous truth  that  "  all  have  sinned,"  and  are  condemned 
already.  2.  It  makes  the  salvation  of  the  heathen  a 
question  of  right  and  justice.  It  supposes  that  by  saving 
those  who  believe  the  Gospel,  the  Almighty  has  brought 
himself  under  a  kind  of  obligation  to  throw  open  the 
gates  of  heaven  to  the  whole  mass  of  the  heathen 
world.  3.  And  it  virtually  constitutes  idolatrous  igno- 
rance a  better  security  for  the  future  happiness  of 
mankind,  than  is  afibrded  by  the  means  of  grace  en- 
joyed under  the  Gospel. 

The  question  is  not,  be  it  remarked,  whether  or  not 

*  Some  of  these  objections  are  very  ably  met  in  a  work  entitled. 
''The  Missionary  Convention  at  Jerusalem  ;  or,  an  Exhibition  of  th^ 
Claims  of  the  World  to  the  Gospel.  By  the  Rev.  David  Abeel;  Mis- 
sionary to  ChiuaM" 


THE  mSSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  329 

in  consequence  of  the  mediation  of  Christ  the  heathen 
are  in  a  salvable  state  ?  This  we  not  only  joyfully 
admit,  but  are  prepared,  if  necessary,  earnestly  to  con- 
tend for.  But  this  fact  only  proves  their  present  con- 
dition to  be  more  fearful  than  if  no  such  salvability 
existed  ;  for  it  shows  they  are  the  subjects  of  moral 
government,  and  as  such  exposed  to  punishment  for 
disobedience.  Nor  is  the  question  whether  many,  but 
whether  any  of  the  heathen  are  saved.  For  we  presume 
that  the  objector  himself  does  not  suppose  that  any 
large  proportion  among  them  are  rescued  from  destruc- 
tion ;  that  he  is  not  even  prepared  to  prove  that  any 
of  them  will  certainly  be  saved.  And  where,  we  ask, 
is  the  charity  of  abandoning  them  all  to  a  vague  hope 
of  deliverance  ?  or  what  is  gained  by  the  admission  that 
one  here  and  there  is  possibly  saved  ?  This  single 
ray  leaves  the  nations  sitting  in  the  darkness  of  de- 
struction still.  The  true  question  is,  are  the  heathens 
as  a  whole,  idolatrous  and  immoral  as  they  are,  spi- 
ritually safe  ?  Every  part  of  the  word  of  God — the 
only  authority  competent  to  reply — affirms  that  they  are 
not. 

For,  firsts  they  are  condemned  by  the  light  of  nature. 
They  will  not  be  condemned  for  the  infraction  of  a 
law  of  which  they  never  heard  ;  nor  for  the  rejection 
of  a  Saviour  who  was  never  proclaimed  to  them.  The 
ground  of  their  condemnation  will  be,  that  they  loved 
darkness  rather  than  the  dim  light  of  reason,  conscience, 
and  tradition,  which  they  enjoyed ;  that  bad  as  their 
creed  was,  their  character  was  worse ;  that  single  as 
their  talent  was,  and  on  that  account  all  the  more 
precious,  they  hid  even  that  in  the  earth,  ''so  that  they 
are  without  excuse." 

SecGudly^  The  word  of  God  confirms  the  sentence  of 
their  condemnation.  Although  the  heathen  of  the 
present  day  are  involuntarily  ignorant  of  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  never  having  heard  of  their  existence,  yet 
as  the  first  act  of  idolatrous  worship  in  every  nation 
must  have  been  perpetrated  in  defiance  of   every  thing 

28* 


330  OBJECTIONS  TO 

sacred  ;  and  as  the  descendants  of  those  idolaters  evince 
as  strong  a  dishke  to  recover  the  knowledge  of  God 
as  they  themselves  did  to  retain  it,  not  only  neglecting 
to  avail  themselves  of  "that  which  may  be  known  of 
God,"  but  entailing  their  idolatry  from  generation  to 
generation  with  accumnlated  abominations ;  they  are 
divinely  pronounced  to  be  inexcusable.  The  opening 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  is  devoted  directly  to 
the  estabhshment  of  this  solemn  fact.  Having  affirmed 
that  "the  Gentiles  who  have  not  the  [revealed]  law, 
are  a  law  unto  themselves,"  the  apostle  convicts  them 
of  the  grossest  violations  of  that  unwritten  law ;  and 
draws  the  solemn  conclusion  that  they  who  have  thus 
"  sinned  without  [the  revealed]  law,  shall  also  perish 
without  law." 

Nor,  thirdly,  does  the  Gospel  afford  us  any  ground 
to  hope  that  the  sentence  of  their  condemnation  will 
be  reversed  through  the  mediation  of  Christ.  That 
faith  in  the  mediation  of  Christ  is  indispensable  to  the 
personal  salvation  of  those  to  whom  the  Gospel  has 
been  proclaimed,  will  be  generally  admitted.  But 
when  the  apostle  inquires  concerning  the  heatheny 
"how  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom  they  have  not 
heard  ?  and  how  shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher  ?" 
if  there  be  meaning  in  language,  he  obviously  intends 
that  it  is  as  impossible  for  a  heathen  to  be  saved  by 
Christ  without  believing  in  him,  as  it  is  for  him  to  hear 
of  Christ  without  a  preacher. 

But  salvation  includes  the  renewal  of  the  heart  by 
the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  well  as  the  remission 
of  sins  through  faith  in  Christ.  Now  that  this  spiritual 
change  is  indispensable  to  the  salvation  of  all  to  whom 
the  Gospel  comes,  and  that  the  truth  is  the  instrument 
by  which  it  is  effected,  will  also  be  generally  admitted. 
But  when  we  hear  it  divinely  declared  to  the  great 
apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  that  the  object  of  his  Mission 
was  "to  open  their  eyes,  and  to  turn  them  from  dark- 
ness to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God  ;" 
what  can  we  infer  but  that   a   spiritual  renovation  is 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  331 

essential  to  their  recovery,  and  that  the  instrumentality 
of  the  Gospel  is  essential  to  that  renovation  ?  To  such 
as  would  argue  against  these  conclusions,  from  the  pro- 
bable salvation  of  the  offspring  of  heathen  dying  in 
infancy,  we  need  only  say,  you  are  arguing  from  the 
case  of  those  who  have  no  actual  sin,  to  those  who  are 
covered  with  the  guilt  of  personal  transgressions  ;  from 
those  who  can  neither  sin  nor  believe,  to  those  who 
have  the  capability  of  both ;  by  a  very  slight  extension 
of  your  argument,  therefore,  you  may  proceed  to  infer 
that  as  those  dying  in  infancy  are  probably  saved 
through  Christ  without  exercising  faith  in  him,  all  are 
probably  saved  by  him,  though  in  the  same  destitution 
of  faith. 

But,  fourthly^  we  cannot  be  adequately  impressed 
with  the  danger  of  the  heathen,  unless  we  remember 
that  their  idolatrous  condition  is  never  represented  in 
Scripture  as  a  palliation  of  their  guilt,  but  as  consti- 
tuting its  vilest  element.  In  speaking  of  its  origin, 
it  is  there  traced  to  two  sources  :  ''because  they  did 
not  like  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them 
up  to  vile  affections."  Here,  a  hatred  for  the  truth 
combines  with  an  act  of  judicial  dereliction,  to  seal 
their  doom ;  for  if  the  former  adds  the  last  shade  to 
their  guilt,  the  latter  entirely  extinguishes  the  hope  of 
their  deliverance. 

And  hence,  fifthly^  the  Divine  punishment  of  idolatry* 
has  frequently  commenced  in  the  present  hfe.  The 
Jewish  dispensation  was  one  perpetual  protest  against 
it.  Whole  nations  of  idolaters  were  exterminated  to 
make  way  for  the  worshippers  of  the  one  living  and 
true  God.  Almost  the  only  thing  against  which  "  the 
wrath  of  God  was  revealed  from  heaven"  for  ages  was 
idolatry,  and  its  immediate  fruits.  In  the  punishment 
of  these,  the  great  cities,  thrones,  and  nations  of  anti- 
quity, were  involved  in  a  common  ruin. 

But,  sixthly,  if  we  have  recourse  to  the  word  of 
God  for  direct  statements  on  the  subject,  the  answer 
of  the  Hving  oracle  is  strictly  corroborative  of  our  worst 


332  OBJECTIONS  TO 

fears:  *' the  whole  world,"  saith  St.  John,  "llethin 
wickedness."  A  people  destitute  of  Divine  revelation 
are  spoken  of  as  "  having  no  hope,  and  without  God 
in  the  world."  If  we  ask  of  their  future  state,  we  are 
told  that  "  idolaters"  are  adjudged  to  "  the  second 
death,"  and  that  the  "  nations  who  forget  God  are 
turned  into  hell."  And  how  truly  affecting  to  find  that 
this  fearful  view  receives  an  appalling  confirmation  in 
the  fears  and  distressing  convictions  of  the  converted 
heathen  themselves,  concerning  those  of  their  relatives 
w^ho  have  died  in  heathenism.  Strongly  predisposed  as 
we  may  well  imagine  them  to  be,  to  hope  the  best 
of  their  eternal  slate,  they  are  free  to  confess  that, 
taking  the  Bible  for  their  guide,  they  can  see  no  escape 
from  the  dreadful  conclusion  that  every  impenitent 
idolater  is  lost.  And  from  this  harrowing  consideration 
they  derive  a  strong  ground  for  upbraiding  us  that  we 
did  not  earlier  send  them  the  Gospel,  and  for  an  earnest 
appeal  that  we  would  now  redeem  the  time  by  re- 
doubling our  efforts  for  its  universal  diffusion.  Away 
then  with  the  false  philanthropy  which  indolently  and 
charitably  abandons  the  everlasting  happiness  of  mil- 
lions to  a  mere  peradventure.  Let  ours  be  the  only 
scriptural  and  consistent  charity,  which,  while  it  fears 
the  worst,  aims  at  the  best  ;  and  while  it  dreads  their 
destruction,  labours  to  the  utmost  for  their  salvation. 
By  this  method,  at  least,  we  cannot  injure  them  ;  by 
any  other,  we  may  be  probably  leaving  them  to  hope- 
less destruction. 

II.  Another  class  of  objectors  are  inclined  to  regard 
the  Missionary  enterprise  as  impracticable.  They  en- 
tertain a  vague  opinion,  the  grounds  and  merits  of  which 
they  have  never  examined,  that  heathenism  is  a  system 
too  old  to  be  altered,  too  deep-seated  to  be  subverted, 
and  too  vast  to  be  materially  reduced.  And  hence  they 
are  apt  to  fortify  this  objection  by  the  addition  of 
another — that  little  or  no  good  has  been  hitherto  accom- 
plished by   Missionary  efforts,  and   that  some  stations 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  333 

have  been  actually  deserted  by  the  Missionaries,  through 
want  of  success,  or  the  fierceness  of  heathen  opposition. 

Now  we  might  justifiably  satisfy  ourselves  by  bring- 
ing this  objection  under  the  neutralizing  influence  of 
the  preceding,  and  asking,  how  the  view  that  the 
heathen  are  so  good  as  to  be  in  little  danger  of  de- 
struction, is  to  be  reconciled  with  the  opposite  assump- 
tion that  they  are  so  bad  as  to  defy  all  means  human 
and  divine  for  their  moral  improvement  ?  But  we  do 
think  it  enough  to  refer  the  objector  to  the  second 
Part  of  this  Essay,  on  Missionary  successes,  as  con- 
taining a  full  reply  to  his  opinion  that  but  little  benefit 
has  hitherto  resulted  from  Christian  Missions  ;  and  to  the 
third  Part,  on  Missionary  Encouragements,  in  answer 
to  his  objection  on  the  impracticability  of  the  work. 

As  to  any  difficulty  which  he  might  feel  arising  from 
the  occasional  reverses  and  partial  failures  of  the  Mis- 
sionary enterprise,  we  would  remind  him,  firsts  that 
temporary  reverses  are  not  peculiar  to  the  diffusion  of 
the  Gospel  ;  that  science  has  sustained  them,  and  yet 
ultimately  triumphed  ;  that  an  Alexander  encountered 
them,  and  yet  became  the  conqueror  of  the  world ; 
that  from  many  of  our  present  colonies,  the  British 
arms  have  more  than  once  been  beaten  off,  and  com- 
pelled for  a  time  to  retire,  but  have  finally  gained  their 
object  ;  that  even  where  our  hopes  have  been  most  dis- 
appointed, and  are  at  this  moment  at  the  lowest  point, 
our  prospects  are  such  that,  were  our  object  military 
conquest  or  national  aggrandizement  instead  of  Chris- 
tian usefulness,  we  could  not  entirely  relinquish  our 
attempts  without  incurring  the  charge  of  cowardice .  or 
treason  ;  and  on  what  principle  are  ice  to  expect  im- 
munity from  similar  trials,  or  to  construe  them  into  a 
sign  of  certain  and  universal  defeat  ? 

We  would  remind  him,  secondly,  that  such  reverses 
are  not  attending  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel  now  for 
the  first  time ;  that  its  plantation  in  our  own  country 
was  not  the  work  of  a  day,  nor  effected  without  the 
endurance  of  persecution  and  death ;  that  the  apostles 


334  OBJECTIONS  TO 

themselves  were  often  driven  from  city  to  city,  and 
that  we  have  no  right  to  expect  exemption  from  similar 
vicissitudes. 

But,  thirdly,  we  have  reason  to  believe  that,  owing 
to  a  change  of  circumstances,  the  instances  of  Mis- 
sionary stations  once  occupied  but  now  deserted,  are 
incomparably  fewer  than  similar  reverses  were  in  pri- 
mitive times ;  that  if  these  few  instances  were  exa- 
mined, it  would  be  found  that  the  majority  of  desertions 
had  arisen  from  the  opposition,  not  of  heathen,  but 
of  nominally  Christian  governments — and  that  such 
opposition  from  this  quarter  is  gradually  ceasing  to 
exist. 

Fourthly,  we  have  to  remind  him  that  such  failures 
so  far  from  being  final,  have  commonly  been  followed 
by  the  most  signal  successes ;  that,  as  in  primitive 
times,  the  "bonds"  of  the  apostle  "turned  out  rather 
for  the  furtherance  of  the  Gospel,"  so  in  the  history 
of  modern  Missions,  the  scene  of  our  greatest  dis- 
couragement and  disaster,  has  often  become  the  scene 
of  our  most  grateful  triumph.  The  Caffre  tribes  which 
formerly  came  down  on  the  Missionary  community  in 
marauding  bands,  approach  it  now  only  to  invoke  the 
instructions  of  a  Christian  teacher.  Where  once  the 
Missionary  was  prevented  from  landing,  the  New  Zea- 
land chief  has  since  been  seen  heading  hundreds  of 
natives  to  honour  and  welcome  his  arrival.  And  in 
the  Sandwich,  Tahiti,  and  Society  Islands ;  in  the 
Hervey,  Navigators,  Friendly,  Austral,  Paumatu,  Gam- 
bier,  Marquesan,  and  other  groupes,  where  once  the 
Christian  preacher  dared  not  approach,  or  fled  with 
unconcealed  terror,  are  now  to  be  found  exemplary 
Christian  churches,  and  societies  for  sending  native 
Missionaries  into  the  regions  beyond. 

Let  the  objector  remember,  next,  that  even  if  the 
Missionary  enterprise  had  been  attended  with  no  direct 
benefits  whatever  abroad,  its  reflex  influence  on  the 
state  of  piety  at  home  has  been  most  amply  remunera- 
tive; so  that  even  if  the  salvation  of  our  own  coun- 


THE  mSSIONARY  ENTERPRISE,  335 

trymen  were  our  exclusive  duty,  we  could  not  think 
of  limiting  the  Gospel  to  our  native  land ;  if  we  were 
at  full  liberty  to  seek  the  welfare  only  of  our  own 
people,  in  order  to  attain  that  end  in  the  shortest  time, 
and  in  the  highest  degree,  we  should  feel  bound  to 
obtain  the  re-acting  influence  of  Christian  Missions.  ' 

But  finally^  we  have  to  remind  him,  that  eminently 
useful  as  their  legitimate  reaction  has  been  on  the  stale 
of  religion  at  home,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  a 
greater  number  of  conversions  has  taken  place  in  hea- 
then lands,  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  means  em- 
ployed, than  has  been  effected  in  the  same  time  in 
Christendom.  So  that,  unless  the  objector  is  prepared 
to  arrest  and  destroy  all  the  Christian  instrumentality 
now  in  operation  at  home  on  the  plea  of  inutility,  con- 
sistency requires  that  he  should  advocate  the  continuance 
and  encouragement  of  the  same  instrumentality,  on  the 
ground  of  its  usefulness  abroad. 

III.  Having  yielded  to  the  preceding  reasons,  the 
objector  may  allege,  further,  that  ''if  the  conversion  of 
the  heathen  must  needs  be  attempted,  philosophy  and 
learning  must,  in  the  nature  of  things,  take  the  prece- 
dence. Indeed,  it  should  seem  hardly  less  absurd  to 
make  revelation  precede  civilization  in  the  order  of  time, 
than  to  pretend  to  unfold  to  a  child  the  Principia  of 
Newton,  before  he  is  made  acquainted  with  the  letters 
of  the  alphabet."  This,  be  it  remarked,  is  not  an  ob- 
jection imagined  for  the  occasion,  but  the  veritable  lan- 
guage of  one  who  was  literally  applauded  by  thousands 
for  uttering  it,  and  whose  words  doubtless  echoed  the 
thoughts  of  thousands  more.  Indeed,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  modern  Missions,  the  opinion  very  generally 
prevailed  among  the  friends  of  Missions  themselves,  that, 
in  barbarous  lands,  civilization  must  pioneer  the  way  for 
Christianity,  but,  on  this  important  condition,  that  the 
Christian  Missionary  himself  should  be  the  pioneer ; 
while  the  class  of  objectors  in  question,  would  have 
him  to  remain  at  home  till  his  way  is  prepared  by  philo- 
sophy and  science. 


336  .      OBJECTIONS  TO 

1.  Now  conceding  to  the  objector  the  credit  of  being 
himself  a  philosopher,  we  might  begin  our  remarks  by 
inquiring,  Do  you  not  know  that  philosophy  has  not 
yet  decided  whether  the  most  perfect  state  of  man  be 
not  the  least  civilized  ?  And  lest  you  should  suppose 
that  such  a  question  was  peculiar  only  to  the  dreaming 
school  of  Rousseau,  we  have  further  to  remind  you  that 
travellers  and  historians  are  still  found  describing  the 
life  of  the  savage  with  so  much  rapture  as  to  compel  the 
belief  that  they  would  fain  propose  it  as  a  model  to  the 
rest  of  the  species  ;  and  so  copiously  applying  to  that 
state  the  epithets,  ''  simple,"  "  virtuous,"  and  "  happy," 
as  to  awaken  the  inquiry,  whether  it  would  not  be  wiser 
to  employ  Missionaries  for  restoring  the  civilized  to 
barbarism,  rather  than  for  raising  the  barbarous  to 
civilization  ? 

2.  We  will  suppose,  however,  that  all  men  pretending 
to  philosophy  have  arrived  at  the  philanthropic  conclu- 
sion that  the  savage  tribes  of  the  earth  should,  if  prac- 
ticable, be  civilized.  But  here  we  have  next  to  ask 
the  objector.  Are  you  not  aware  that  the  almost  unani- 
mous conclusion  to  which  your  order  has  arrived  is,  that 
those  tribes  are  utterly  irreclaimable  ?  Nearly  two 
centuries  elapsed,  for  instance,  after  the  discovery  of 
America,  before  its  inhabitants  attracted  the  attention 
of  philosophers.  And  when  they  did,  it  was  only  to  be 
described  by  one  as  "  a  race  just  calleil_J.nto  existence, 
and  still  ^t  the  beginning  of  thejr.  career  ;"*  and,  by 
another,  as  '' amhials  of  inferior  order,  incapable  of 
acquring  religious  knowledge,  or  of  being  trained  to 
the  functions  of  social  life*"f  And  do  you  not  know 
that  this  representation  of  the  natural  inferiority  of 
uncivilized  man  became  so  prevalent  in  the  class  of 
philosophic  writings  referred  to,  that  had  the  writers 
been  constituted  a  committee  on  the  subject,  they 
could  not  have  "  brought  up"  a  more  consistent  report  ? 


*  M.  de  Buffon,  Hist.  Nat.  iii.  484,  fee,  ix.  114. 

f  M.  de  P.  Recherches  Philos.  sur  les  Americ.  passim. 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  337 

Do  you  not  know  that  the  consequent  belief  of  this 
inferiority  became  so  popular,  that  the  public  mind  is 
yet  far  from  being  disabused  of  it  ?  but  that  as  far  as 
it  has  been  disabused,  Christian  Missionaries  have  been 
mainly  instrumental  in  dislodging  the  error  by  develop- 
ing the  intellectual  and  moral  capacities  of  the  traduced 
aborigines,  through  the  medium  of  religion  ? 

3.  Now  it  must  be  allowed  that  to  report  a  people 
irrecoverably  brutish,  is  a  strange  and  ominous  com- 
mencement of  their  civilization.  For,  "  having  classed 
their  fellow-creatures  among  the  wild  beasts  of  the 
forest,  these  claimants  to  the  exclusive  title  of  human 
beings  are  likely  to  find  little  difficulty  in  defending,  at 
least  to  their  own  satisfaction,  whatever  measures  may 
be  necessary  for  the  subjugation  or  destruction  of  the 
common  enemy. ""^^  Accordingly,  we  have  next  to  remind 
the  objector,  that  with  singular  unanimity  they  have 
decreed  that  untutored  man  must  be  destroyed.  Yes, 
the  very  men  who  would  scout  the  idea  of  the  Christian 
Missionary  attempting  to  benefit  the  savage  before  they 
have  visited  him  with  their  grand  specific  of  civilization, 
have  yet  banded  together,  in  effect,  for  his  destruction. 
"  Nothing  but  powder  and  ball,"  said  an  European 
officer,  "  can  civilize  these  savages  ;"  the  tribes  to  which 
he  referred,  have  since  been  both  civilized  and  evan- 
gelized, by  the  Divine  blessing  on  Missionary  endea- 
vours. "  Do  you  think  it  possible,"  said  Sir  Rufane 
Shaw  Donkin  to  Doctor  Philip,  in  the  Committee  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  "  to  prevent  enlightened  Europeans 
who  settle  in  a  country,  from  ultimately  exterminating 
the  unenlightened  inhabitants  ?"  from  which  we  must 
infer  that  the  certainty  of  the  destruction  of  a  barbarous 
tribe  is  in  exact  proportion  to  the  advanced  enlighten- 
ment of  the  colonists.  » 

In  a  proclamation  issued  by  Sir  B.  D'Urban,  the 
CafFres  are  denounced  as  "  irreclaimable  savages  ;"  and 
this  in  the  very  face  of  the  fact,  as  slated  in  the  De- 

*  Lord  Glenelg's  Despatch  to  Governor  Sir  B.  D'Urban, 
29 


338  OBJECTIONS  TO 

spatch  of  Lord  Glenelg,  that  ''  under  the  guidance  of 
their  Christian  ministers  they  have  built  places  of  public 
worship  ;  have  erected  school-houses,  and  sent  their 
children  thither  for  instruction  ;  have  made  no  incon- 
siderable advance  in  agriculture  and  in  commerce  ;  have 
established  a  trade  amounting  to  not  less  than  £30,000 
per  annum  in  the  purchase  of  European  commodities ; 
and  when  as  many  as  two  hundred  British  traders  were 
living  far  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the  colony,  protected 
only  by  the  integrity  and  humanity  of  the  uncivilized 
natives."  And  yet  it  is  of  this  same  people  that  we 
read  in  a  volume  just  issued  from  the  press,  that  "  it 
furnishes  matter  of  amazement  to  every  thinking  person, 
how  those  who  have  legislated  for  the  affairs  of  the 
colony  should  not  long  ago  have  seen  the  imperious 
necessity,  dictated  alike  hy  reason,  justice^  and  humanity , 
of  exterminating  from  off  the  face  of  the  earth  such  a 
race  of  monsters."*  "The  uncivilized  must  give  way 
io  the  civilized,"  says  the  editor  of  the  journal  of  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society,  "  and  better  sooner  than 
late."t  But,  for  the  full  exposition  of  this  exterminat- 
ing philosophy,  we  must  refer  to  the  following  passage  in 
Sir  John  Ross's  Second  Voyage  to  the  Arctic  Regions  ; 
"  Our  brandy  was  as  odious  as  our  pudding  to  our 
Esquimaux  visitors,  and  they  have  yet  therefore  to 
acquire  the  taste  which  has,  in  ruining  the  morals, 
hastened  the  extermination  of  their  American  neigh- 
bours to  the  Southward.  If,  however,  these  tribes  must 
finally  disappear,  as  seems  their  fate,  it  is  at  least  better 
that  they  should  die  gradually  by  the  force  of  rum,  than 
that  they  should  be  exterminated  in  masses  by  the  fire 
and  sword  of  the  Spanish  conquest,  since  there  is  some 
pleasure,  such  as  it  is,  in  the  mean  time,  while  there  is 
also  a  voluntary  but  slow  suicide  in  exchange  for  murder 
and  robbery.  Is  it  not  the  fate  of  the  savage  and  the 
uncivilized  on  this  earth  to  give  way  to  the  more  cun- 

*  Narrative  of  an  Expedition  into  Southern  Africa,  &c.,  by  Capt. 
W.  C.  Harris, 
t  Vol.  V.  pt.  ii.  1835.  p.  315. 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  339 

ning  and  the  better  informed,  to  knowledge  and  civili- 
zation ?,  It  is  the  order  of  the  world,  and  the  right  one  ; 
nor  will  all  the  lamentations  of  a  mawkish  philanthropy, 
with  its  more  absurd  or  censurable  efforts,  avail  one  jot 
against  an  order  of  things  as  wise  as  it  is  assuredly 
established."* 

4.  But  next  we  have  to  remind  the  objector  that  those 
who  should  have  been  the  advocates  and  agents  of 
civilization,  having  concluded,  to  their  own  satisfaction, 
that  the  uncivilized  must  be  destroyed,  have  destroyed 
them  accordingly.  *' An  uncivilized  people,"  says  Nie- 
buhr,  "has  never  derived  benefit  from  contact  with  a 
civilized  race."  So  uniformly  has  the  extirpation  of 
the  former  followed  the  arrival  of  the  latter,  that,  as 
we  have  seen  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  a  theory 
has  been  formed  to  account  for  and  justify  the  wide 
spreading  calamity.  Man  has  impiously  appealed  to 
the  purposes  of  God  in  vindication  of  his  own  attrocities. 
The  ordination  of  Divine  Providence — a  providence 
ever  just  and  kind — has  been  represented  as  obtaining 
its  fulfilment  in  the  erection  of  an  altar  to  Moloch  at 
which  millions  of  human  victims  have,  bled.  And  here, 
let  it  be  observed,  we  are  not  speaking  of  days  long 
gone  by — of  the  Red  Cross  Knights  of  Mexican  and 
Peruvian  butcheries — but  of  the  deeds  of  to-day ;  of 
the  last  new  creed  of  philosophy  on  the  subject  of  civi- 
lization ;  of  the  principle  just  evolved  by  the  spirit  of 
the  times  from  an  induction  of  multiplied  facts,  as  the 
only  principle  to  be  relied  on  and  embodied  in  practice  ; 
— and  this  is  it — the  uncivilized  world  must  be  blotted 
out. 

5.  Next,  we  have  to  show  the  objector,  that  where 
the  civilization  which  has  hitherto  attended  the  progress 
of  our  arms,  commerce,  and  colonization,  has  not  ex- 
terminated a  people,  so  far  from  preparing  them  for 
the  reception  of  Christianity  it  has  proved  the  greatest 
obstacle   to   ils  introduction.      And   how   could    it  be 

*  Narrative,  &c..  vol.  i.  p.  257. 


340  OBJECTIONS  TO 

Otherwise  ?  For  what  have  the  means  of  such  civiliza- 
tion been,  but  the  overflowing  of  our  national  depravity, 
and  the  exercise  of  injustice  and  oppression  ?  Philoso- 
phy has  prepared  the  way  for  the  demons  of  avarice, 
cruelty,  and  licentiousness,  by  proclaiming  the  hopeless 
brutalization  of  savage  tribes.  A  civilized  legislation 
has  transferred  whole  regions  to  colonists — transferred 
those  regions  from  under  the  feet  of  the  aboriginal 
inhabitants  without  rendering  them  an  atom  of  com- 
pensation. A  legalized  commerce  has  for  ages  devoted 
one  quarter  of  the  globe  to  a  market  for  human  flesh. 
And,  in  its  considerate  regard  for  the  welfare  of  the 
native  tribes,  one  of  the  first  buildings  which  a  Chris- 
tian government  has  erected  in  some  of  its  colonies  has 
been  a  gaol  for  the  reception  of  the  superabundant 
depravity  of  home ;  and  one  of  the  first  colonies  which 
it  has  planted  has  been  a  colony  of  convicts.  About 
two  thousand  runaway  sailors  and  convicts  are  at  large 
in  New  Zealand  and  the  adjacent  islands  alone,  carry- 
ing demoralization  and  ruin  wherever  they  come.  And 
again  philosophy  steps  in  with  her  timely  aid  ;  and, 
lest  the  work  of  destruction  should  proceed  too  slowly, 
announces  the  crowning  and  seasonable  discovery,  that 
such  destruction  is  perfectly  in  harmony  with  the  plans 
of  Heaven. 

Are  we  to  wonder  that,  influenced  by  such  examples, 
and  in  obedience  to  such  doctrines,  the  civiHved  savage 
should  have  degraded  the  uncivilized  savage  from  a  brute 
into  a  demon,  making  him  twofold  more  the  child  of  hell 
than  before  ;  that  he  should  have  introduced  among  the 
natives  European  vices,  violently  seized  their  women, 
taught  the  horrid  traffic  of  licentiousness,  and  intro- 
duced a  train  of  new  diseases  and  frightful  evils  too 
revolting  to  meet  the  public  eye  ^*  that  he  should 
have  forcibly  seized  their  lands,  plentifully  supplied 
them  with  ardent  spirits,   excited    quarrels  among   the 


*  So  revolting,   that  in  the   "  Evidence   on  the  Aborigines"  it  is. 
necessarily  omitted, — see  pp.  20,  23. 


TBE  MISSIONAEY  ENTERPRISE.  341 

different  tribes,  and  then  furnished  them  with  arms  for 
the  purpose  of  mutual  destruction  ?  and  that  the  direct 
effect  of  all  this  should  be  to  prevent  the  progress  of 
education  and  religion  ?*  Are  we  to  wonder  that  the 
only  question  of  colonial  policy  with  many  of  the 
colonists  themselves  has  come  to  be  simply  this,  whether 
the  natives  should  be  destroyed  slowly  or  speedily — by 
the  gun,  or  by  drunkenness  and  disease  ?  Are  we  to  be 
surprised  at  finding  that  they  themselves  have  come  to 
stand  in  much  greater  need  of  the  restraints  of  law  than 
even  the  natives  ;  that  while  these  only  need  the  Christian 
Missionary,  those  require  both  the  Missionary  and 
''the  supervision  of  an  efficient  police  ?"f  Or  that 
a  society  should  have  at  length  arisen  for  the  protection 
of  those  aboriginal  victims  of  civilization  ?  Are  we 
to  wonder  that  one  Missionary  should  be  heard  depre- 
cating the  influence  of  such  civilization  on  the  natives  ? 
that  another  should  declare,  "I  had  ten  times  rather 
meet  them  in  their  savage  state  than  after  they  have 
had  intercourse  with  Europeans ;"  and  that  all  should 
unite  in  deploring  the  effect  of  such  intercourse,  as 
amongst  the  greatest  obstacles  to  success  which  they 
are  called  to  encounter  ?J  And  can  we  be  astonished 
to  find  the  prejudiced,  injured,  and  demoralized  native 
turning  away,  and  spurning  the  cup  of  salvation,  because 
it  is  proffered  to  him  by  a  Christian  hand  ? 

6.  Advancing  a  step  farther,  we  would  show  the  ob- 
jector, next,  that  instead  of  civilization  being  necessary 
to  prepare  the  way  for  Christianity,  Christianity  is 
indispensable  to  a  true  civilization.  When  we  speak  of 
a  true  civilization,  we  mean  to  imply  that  a  spurious 
and  superficial  state  of  social  advancement — in  which 
houses  are  built  instead  of  wigwams,  the  clothing  of 
the  loins  extended  over  the  body,  and  the  work  of  con- 
quest and  human  butchery  is  conducted  scientifically — 
may  obtain  independently  of  religion.     But  if  by  civi- 

*  Evidence  on  the  Abori2:iDes,  pp.  20,  23,  passim, 
t  Idem,  p.  63.  ^J  Idem,  pp.  27,  173,  277. 

29* 


342  OBJECTIONS  TO 

lization  we  understand  a  state  in  which  the  rights  of 
men  are  respected,  and  the  proprieties  and  charities 
of  Hfe  are  cultivated,  we  are  prepared  to  show  that 
it  has  never  been  found  but  as  the  inseparable  com- 
panion and  effect  of  Divine  Christianity.  For,  first, 
admitting  that  barbarous  tribes  could  be  reclaimed  with- 
out the  intervention  of  Christian  Missionaries,  "the 
mere  civilizing  plan  does  not  furnish  motives  strong 
enough  to  induce  men  to  give  up  the  comforts  of  home 
merely  to  teach  them  civilization."  Hence  when  Dr. 
Coke,  about  forty  years  ago,  was  induced  to  form  a 
plan  for  civilizing  the  Foulahs  of  Western  Africa, 
preparatory  to  the  introduction  of  the  Gospel — a  plan 
patronized  by  Mr.  Wilberforce,  and  other  leading  men 
of  the  day — it  failed  entirely,  "and  failed  for  this  very 
reason,  that  the  agents  [mechanics]  engaged  to  carry 
the  scheme  into  effect,  did  not  find  sufficient  motives  to 
induce  them  to  persevere.  On  reaching  Sierra  Leone 
their  courage  failed  them."  But  Christianity  could  find 
agents  for  that  very  sphere — has  found  them  ;  and  the 
result  is  that  religion  and  civilization  are  advancing 
among  the  Foulahs  hand  in  band.* 

Nor,  secondly,  does  civilization  furnish  motives  suffi- 
ciently powerful  to  induce  the  heathen  to  be  taught. 
"  The  fruit  ripens,"  they  say,  "and  the  pigs  get  fat 
while  we  are  asleep,  and  that  is  all  we  want ;  why,  there- 
fore, should  we  work  ?"  In  vain  did  the  governor  of 
Upper  Canada  repeat  his  attempts  to  induce  the  Chip- 
peways  to  renounce  their  wandering  life,  and  to  attend 
to  civihzed  pursuits.  "Who  knows,"  said  they,  "but 
the  Munedoos  (gods)  would  be  angry  with  us  for  aban- 
doning our  own  ways ;"  and  the  homes  which  he  had 
kindly  built  for  them  remained  unoccupied — monu- 
ments of  the  impotence  of  civilization  without  religion. 
The  apparent  tameness  of  civilized  life  possesses  no 
attractions  sufficiently  strong  to  induce  the  barbarian 
to   abandon   his   roving   habits,    and    to   encounter  the 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  pp.  124,  125,  129,  338. 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  343 

anger  of  his  gods  for  its  sake.  Such  is  the  explana- 
tion of  the  fact  furnished  by  the  barbarian  himself 
when  reclaimed  by  the  influence  of  the  Gospel.  And 
consequently  so  uniform  and  complete  has  been  the 
failure  of  the  mere  civilizing  plan,  that  many  intelligent 
Americans  have  been  led  to  adopt  the  conclusion  that 
the  aborigines  are  utterly  incapable  of  being  reclaimed, 
and  must  be  banished  from  the  neidibourhood  of  the 
white  population.* 

But  thirdly,  if  these  difficulties  were  surmounted, 
the  civilization  of  the  heathen  would  not  predispose 
them  to  the  reception  of  the  Gospel.  That  part  of 
our  nature  which  religion  especially  addresses  would 
still  be  left  unimproved.  And  hence  India  and  China 
are  not  found  to  receive  the  Gospel  the  more  readily 
for  the  fact  that  they  have  been  for  ages  in  a  state  of 
semi-civilization.  The  plan  which  the  Society  of 
Friends  adopted  in  their  early  intercourse  with  the 
Indians  was,  to  attempt  civilization  first.  This  plan 
they  have  steadily  pursued  for  years,  for  ages,  at  a 
considerable  annual  expense.  And  what  is  the  result 
of  this  long  and  costly  experiment?  "Within  the 
last  few  years,"  says  one  of  the  members  of  the  com- 
mittee for  conducting  it,  "we  have  had  occasion  to 
review  the  whole  course  of  proceedings,  and  we  have 
come  to  the  conclusion,  from  a  deliberate  view  of  the 
past,  that  we  erred,  sorrowfully  erred,  in  the  plan  which 
was  originally  adopted  in  making  civilization  the  first 
object  ;  for  we  cannot  count  on  a  single  individual 
that  we  have  brought  to  the  full  adoption  of  Chris- 
tianity."! 

And,  then,  fourthly,  while  we  are  not  aware  of  a 
single  instance  in  which  civilization  has  prepared  the 
way  for  Christianity,  facts  innumerable  might  be  added 
to  those  already  adduced,  to  show  that  it  has  had  a 


*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  pp.  126,  127,  142,   143,   154,   178, 
294,  337. 
t  Idem,  p.  187—197. 


344  OBJECTIONS  TO 

contrary  effect.  Why  is  it  that  the  most  savage  tribes 
are  more  easily  brought  under  the  influence  of  the 
Gospel,  than  the  partially  civilized  nations  of  China 
and  India  ?  Which  of  the  Indian  nations  offered  the 
most  obdurate  resistance  to  the  Gospel,  but  the  Mo- 
hawks of  upper  Canada,  who,  through  the  kindness 
of  his  majesty,  had  enjoyed  the  educational  and  civi- 
lizing process  for  forty  years  ?  Their  'proverbial  aban- 
donment to  vice  was  often  urged  by  their  ignorant 
heathen  neighbours  as  an  objection  against  the  Christian 
religion  itself.*  And  the  reason  why  the  influence 
of  civilization  is  thus  unfriendly  to  religion  is  obvious. 
"  Man,"  says  an  eloquent  writer,  "  may  master  nature 
to  become  in  turn  its  slave.  Civilization,  so  far  from 
being  able  of  itself  to  give  moral  strength  and  elevation, 
includes  causes  of  degradation,  which  nothing  but  the 
religious  principle  can  withstand."  It  multiphes  the 
desires  and  passions  of  the  heart,  without  any  increase 
of  power  to  the  regulating  principles  ;  and  thus  only 
adds  to  the  length  of  the  lever  by  which  vice  subverts 
both  our  moral  constitution,  and  the  fabric  of  society. 
Reason  and  experience  forbid  us  to  expect,  said  Wash- 
ington on  resigning  the  presidency  in  1796,  that  mo- 
rality or  political  prosperity,  can  prevail  in  exclusion 
of  religious  principles.  And  in  1802,  the  French  Re- 
public were  constrained  to  confess,  ''  For  w^ant  of  a 
religious  education  for  the  last  ten  years,  our  children 
are  without  any  idea  of  a  Divinity,  without  any  notion 
of  what  is  just  or  unjust  :  hence  arise  barbarous  man- 
ners, hence  a  people  l3ecome  ferocious." 

7.  We  have  to  show  the  objector,  further,  that 
wherever  Christianity  and  civilization  have  presented 
themselves  before  a  heathen  tribe  in  company,  the 
former  has  been  invariably  embraced  before  the  latter. 
Now  this  fact,  we  should  suppose,  ought  to  be  con- 
clusive. The  plan  of  Missionary  proceeding  which 
wisdom  and   experience   sanction  is,   not  to  act  as  if 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines^  pp.  133,  134. 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE,  345 

a  savage  tribe  would  be  civilized  by  merely  preach- 
ing to  them  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel — this  would 
be  only  the  opposite  error  of  those  who  imagine  that 
rude  people  may  be  civilized  without  the  influence  of 
religion  ;  but  to  act  on  the  principle  that,  while  Chris- 
tianity alone  can  excite  in  them  a  desire  for  im- 
provement, nothing  should  be  omitted  of  a  civilizing 
nature  likely  to  subserve  that  desire.  For  from  the 
moment  that  the  Christian  principle  begins  to  operate 
upon  the  mind  of  man,  from  that  moment  the  wants 
and  cravings  of  civilization  begin  and  advance.  And, 
we  repeat,  that  wherever,  in  harmony  with  these 
views,  Christianity  and  civilization  have  thus  laboured 
among  a  barbarous  people  conjointly,  the  former  has 
been  invariably  embraced  first.  Ffteen  years  of  effort 
were  made  by  the  Missionaries  in  the  South  Sea 
Islands,  to  introduce  the  arts  of  civilized  life  with 
instruction  in  the  truths  of  the  Christian  religion — but 
apparently  in  vain.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  Chris- 
tianity was  adopted  by  the  people,  and  from  that  mo- 
ment their  civilization  commenced.*  Another  fifteen 
years  of  missionary  effort  were  occupied  in  New  Zealand 
in  a  similar  manner,  and  apparently  without  effect ; 
but  the  "very  moment  that  Christianity  established  itself 
in  only  one  instance  in  the  island,  from  that  moment 
civilization  commenced,  and  has  been  going  on  hand  in 
hand  with  Christianity,  but  never  preceded  it."f 

8.  And,  finally,  let  the  objector  know,  that  wherever 
Christianity  has  gained  a  footing,  civilization  has  in- 
variably followed.  The  first  house  which  the  barbarian 
builds,  is  commonly  a  house  of  God.  In  vain  did 
government  erect  habitations  for  the  Chippeways  in 
order  to  allure  them  to  the  habits  of  civilized  life ;  but 
no  sooner  did  the  Gospel  affect  them  than  they  applied 
to  the  Governor  for  that  very  aid  which  they  had  before 
rejected :   this  was  afforded,   and  they  settled  on  the 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines^  pp.  176j  177. 
t  Idem,  p.  250. 


346  OBJECTIONS  TO 

river  Credit.  In  vain  were  the  influences  of  civilization 
showered  on  the  Mohawks  ;  the  only  effect  was  increased 
demoralization.  But  no  sooner  did  they  begin  to  em- 
brace the  Christian  faith,  than  "each  appeared  to  vie 
with  the  rest  which  should  give  the  strongest  proofs  of 
industrious  habits."*  The  same  mere  civilizing  process 
has  been  tried  on  the  Wyandot  Indians  and  the  Che- 
rokees,  and  with  the  same  comparative  failure ;  but 
"the  Missionary  has  marched  up  to  the  savage  heart, 
adapted  his  mode  of  instruction  to  the  condition  of  the 
Indian,  and  his  conversion  to  Christianity  has  followed. 
This  accomplished,  he  has  been  easily  brought  by  gentle 
steps  to  walk  in  the  path  of  civilization."!  Evidence 
to  the  same  effect  might  easily  be  adduced  from  the 
history  of  Christian  Missions  among  the  West  Indian 
negroes,  the  remains  of  the  Charib  race,  the  various 
tribes  of  West  and  Southern  Africa,  the  Hindoos  of 
India,  the  Budhists  of  Ceylon,  the  cannibals  of  New 
Zealand,  and  the  other  islanders  of  the  South  Sea. J 
The  Missions  of  every  denomination  of  Protestants, 
says  Bannister  in  his  "British  Colonization" — those  of 
tlie  Church  of  England,  the  Moravians,  the  Independ- 
ents, the  Baptists,  the  W^esleyans,  the  Scottish — all 
present  animated  spectacles  of  workshops,  farms,  and 
school-houses  thickening  around  their  churches  and 
chapels  ;  and  the  occupations  of  merely  civilized  men, 
carried  on  with  vigour  and  success,  hand  in  hand  with 
Christian  duties,  by  tens  of  thousands  whose  fathers, 
and  often  themselves,  were  lately  naked  and  house- 
less, and  possessionless  barbarians. §  While  they  are 
under  the  influence  of  their  superstitions  they  evince 
an  inanity  and  torpor,  from  which  no  stimulus  has 
proved  powerful  enough  to  arouse  them,  but  the  new 
ideas  and  principles  imparted  by  Christianity.  And  if 
facts  can  convince — if  the  question  is  to  be  decided  by 
evidence — the  objector  is  bound  to  receive  it  as  an  ad- 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  142. 

t  Idem,  pp.  146—153. 

i  Idem,  pp.  132;  166,  174,  250.  §  P.  174. 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  347 

judged  case,  that  the  Missionary  enterprise  is  incom- 
parably the  most  effective  machinery  that  has  ever  been 
brought  to  operate  on  the  social  and  civil,  as  well  as 
on  the  moral  and  spiritual  interests  of  mankind.* 

IV.  Convinced  that  Christianity  is  the  great  agent  of 
civilization,  an  objector  may  yet  allege  in  excuse  for  not 
assisting  to  send  it  abroad,  that  we  have  heathen  enough 
at  home ;  that  charity  begins  at  home,  and  that  we  must 
evangelize  home  first.  These  are  pleas,  which,  by 
wearing  the  appearance  of  a  pious  patriotism,  often 
beguile  the  sympathies  of  the  unreflecting,  and  tend  to 
foster  a  spirit  of  indolence  in  the  cause  of  God,  whose 
exposure  should  be  its  utter  condemnation.  Let  us 
first  endeavour  to  exhibit  their  hollowness,  and  then 
specify  certain  principles  by  which  they  are  to  be  met, 
and  the  truth  defended. 

"  We  have  heathen  of  our  own  at  home,"  you  say, 
by  which  we  are  to  suppose  that  you  intend  persons  who 
are  very  ignorant  and  very  vicious.  But  if  such  persons 
are  existing  around  you  in  any  considerable  number, 
does  not  the  fact  implicate  you  in  the  tremendous  guilt 
of  having  neglected  them  ?  And  will  you  plead  that 
which  results  from  your  own  sinful  omission  of  duty 
towards  those  thousands,  as  an  excuse  for  neglecting  a 
similar  duty  towards  as  many  millions  .''  But  in  extenu- 
ation of  your  conduct  towards  your  irreligious  neigh- 
bours, you  probably  plead  that  they  have  been  far  from 
entirely  neglected  ;  that  the  knowledge  and  means  of 
religion  have  been  within  their  reach  from  infancy. 
From  which  we  learn,  on  your  own  admission,  that  they 
are  ignorant,  not  by  necessity,  but  choice — self-consti- 
tuted heathen  men,  who  deliberately  prefer  practical 
atheism  to  Christianity.  And  we  ask,  is  the  world  to 
be  kept  in  ignorance — are  the  millions  abroad  to  be  left 
to  perish — because  there  are  those  at  home  who  "  hate 
instruction,"  and  "love  darkness   rather  than  light?" 

*  Williams,  M.  E. 


348  OBJECTIONS  TO 

Such  a  sentiment  you  profess  to  repudiate  ;  but  while 
you  theoretically  admit  the  heathen  to  a  share  in  your 
sympathies,  you  still  contend  that — 

"  Charity  begins  at  home."  To  which  it  should  be 
sufficient  to  reply,  that  this  is  a  saying  which,  so  far 
from  subserving  an  objector  to  the  Missionary  enter- 
prise, tells  directly  against  him,  for  it  obviously  implies 
that  charity  is  diffusive,  and  instead  of  remaining  at 
home  only  begins  at  home.  There  is  but  one  way  then, 
in  which  this  proverb  can  avail  you,  and  that  is  by 
implying  that  there  has  not  yet  been  sufficient  time  for 
charity  to  begin  her  domestic  duties  ;  in  answer  to  which 
we  will  only  suggest  the  inquiry,  if  upwards  of  a  thou- 
sand years  form  too  short  a  period  for  the  mere  work 
of  preparatory  benevolence  at  home,  how  many  thou- 
sands are  likely  to  elapse  before  the  ends  of  the  earth 
will  be  blessed  with  the  Gospel  ? 

For  your  third  proposition,  that  "  we  must  evangelize 
home  first"  implies,  not  only  the  order  of  benevolent 
operation,  but  also  the  high  degree  of  success  which 
must  attend  it  before  you  could  think  of  aiding  Chris- 
tian Missions.  But  for  such  a  requisition  we  are  surely 
justified  in  expecting  that  you  can  plead  the  most  sub- 
stantial warrant  both  from  Scripture  and  experience. 
You  should  be  able  to  show,  for  instance,  that  the 
apostles  made  the  evangelization  of  Judea  the  condition 
of  their  attempting  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles,  and 
that  as  they  failed  of  entire  success  at  home  they  never 
proceeded  abroad.  And  you  should  be  prepared  to 
prove  in  addition,  that  this  course  has  been  uniformly 
sanctioned  by  the  Divine  blessing  wherever  it  has  been 
followed  ;  so  that  to  confine  our  Christian  activity  to 
the  limits  of  home,  is  the  true  secret  of  real  pros- 
perity. Now  surely  you  need  not  to  be  reminded 
that  almost  the  only  particular  in  which  the  apostles 
incurred  the  public  rebuke  of  Providence,  was  for  in- 
dulging the  very  disposition  which  you  exhibit — for  con- 
fining to  their  own  country  labours  which  were  meant 
for  the  w^orld  ;  that  you  owe  it  to  the  violation  of  that 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  349 

rule  which  you  hold  so  sacred,  that  you  yourself,  and 
all  your  countrymen,  are  not  living  in  heathenism  ;  and 
that  when  the  apostles  came  to  understand  their  duty, 
they  no  sooner  encountered  rejection  from  the  Jews  in 
any  of  the  cities  and  regions  they  visited,  than  they 
forthwith  "turned  to  the  Gentiles."  And  as  to  the 
conclusion  derivable  from  experience  on  the  subject,  we 
would  merely  suggest  the  inquiry,  whether  it  is  not 
high  time  to  suspect  the  wisdom  of  a  plan  whose  prac- 
tical operation  and  proposed  result  never  promise  to 
approach  each  other  ? 

The  following  principles,  we  think,  require  but  a  very 
slight  eftbrt  of  attention,  and  of  application  to  the  sub- 
ject, in  order  to  show  you  that  your  objection  is  utterly 
untenable.  The ^ir^^  of  these  principles  is,  that  as  the 
Gospel  is  designed  for  every  creature,  we  are  bound 
to  attempt  its  universal  diffusion.  This  obligation  arises 
partly  out  of  our  community  of  nature  and  interest — a 
relationship  by  w^hich  the  entire  race,  instead  of  con- 
sisting of  a  multitude  of  detached  and  isolated  indi- 
viduals, is  formed  into  a  family  so  closely  united  by 
reciprocal  ties,  that  the  well  being  of  each  is  connected 
with  the  good  of  all.  To  complete  the  obligation, 
however,  the  will  of  Christ  has  made  it  authoritative 
and  Divine.  Do  you  ask  where  and  how  he  has  ex- 
pressed that  will  ?  Not  merely  by  commands  to  be 
found  in  almost  every  page  of  his  Gospel,  and  which 
require  us  to  "  do  good  unto  all  men."  Not  merely 
by  the  authority  of  his  own  example  in  "  taking  away 
the  sin  of  the  world."  But  also  by  the  diffusive  nature 
of  the  Gospel  itself,  by  which  it  no  sooner  takes  effect 
on  an  individual  than  he  feels  himself  impelled  to  pro- 
claim its  virtues  to  others,  and  to  urge  its  acceptance. 
And  still  more,  if  possible,  by  the  Divine  constitution 
of  the  Christian  Church  ;  by  which,  as  we  have  shown 
at  large  in  the  first  Part,  having  composed  it  of  such 
as  have  themselves  found  mercy,  he  requires  them  to 
act  as  a  body  organized  and  appointed  for  the  recovery 
of  others. 

30 


350  OBJECTIONS  TO 

But  while  every  Christian  is  thus  bound  to  aim  at 
the  welfare  of  the  entire  race,  a  second  principle  is,  that 
there  is  an  order  in  which  his  benevolent  efforts  are  to 
be  made.  This  law  of  succession  is  the  order  of  nature, 
by  which  those  who  are  most  nearly  related  to  us  have 
the  first  and  strongest  claims  on  us  ;  the  order  of  Pro- 
vidence, by  which  we  are  enabled  to  administer  the 
means  of  salvation  to  those  who  are  placed  near  to  us 
earlier,  and  at  less  expense,  and  in  greater  variety  and 
abundance  than  we  can  to  those  who  are  more  remote 
from  us  ;  the  order  of  Scripture  example,  in  which  we 
see  the  apostles  uniformly  preaching  first,  wherever 
they  went,  to  those  of  their  own  nation  ;  and  also  the 
order  of  the  future  judgment,  according  to  which  no 
plea  of  attempting  good  at  a  distance  will  be  admitted 
as  an  answer  to  the  charge,  '•  I  was  a  stranger  and  ye 
took  me  not  in."  But  in  saying  all  this,  we  may  appear 
to  be  only  repeating  the  sentiments  of  the  objector. 
So  far  from  this,  however,  we  are  insisting  on  a  very 
different  subject,  and  one  which,  by  implication  refutes 
his  objection.  For  while  we  are  only  showing  the  order 
in  which  we  are  to  work  from  the  centre  of  our  own 
circle  outwards,  he  is  contending  for  the  time  we  are 
to  remain  in  that  circle,  and  the  amount  of  good  we 
are  to  accomplish  there,  before  we  attempt  any  thing 
beyond  it ;  and  is  thus  practically  denying  any  order 
of  usefulness  at  all.  Whether  the  command  of  Christ 
to  his  apostles,  that  they  should  ''begin  at  Jerusalem," 
is  applicable  here,  admits  of  a  question ;  for  it  is  quite 
possible  that  the  reason  of  that  injunction  arose  out 
of  his  relationship  to  the  Jews,  and  not  from  that  of 
the  apostles — a  relation  which  as  it  was  perfectly  unique, 
cannot  be  a  ground  of  obligation  to  his  followers.  But 
allowing  that  it  is  applicable,  and  that  it  thus  har- 
monizes with  our  present  position ;  you,  we  say  to  the 
objector,  you,  by  pleading  exclusively  for  home,  are 
acting  directly  at  variance  with  it ;  for  while  it  allows 
you  to  begin  at  home,  it  does  not  permit  you  to  rest 
till  you  have  aimed  to  difiuse  the  Gospel  "among  all 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  351 

nations."  And  this  shows  that  the  order  in  which  our 
benevolent  efforts  are  to  be  made  is  not  only  the  order 
of  nature,  of  Providence,  of  scriptural  example,  and 
of  the  final  judgment,  but  also  the  order  of  self-increas- 
ing Christian  usefulness ;  the  order,  that  is,  by  which, 
in  seeking  the  salvation  of  those  immediately  around 
us  first,  we  multiply  our  means,  through  the  grace  of 
God,  for  usefulness  to  the  world  at  large. 

Hence,  a  third  principle  is,  that  by  observing  the 
scriptural  order  of  Christian  activity,  success  at  home 
becomes  the  means  of  increased  usefulness  abroad. 
Home  duties,  then,  are  to  be  discharged  partly  w^hh  the 
view  of  ultimately  augmenting  our  resources  for  every 
sphere  of  usefulness  beyond.  So  that  we  may  say  to 
ihe  objector — the  Christian  philanthropist  has  all  your 
motives  for  seeking  the  welfare  of  those  around  him, 
and  one  in  addition  of  which  you  know  nothing, — the 
powerful  motive  of  thus  multiplying  his  means  of  bene- 
fiting the  world  at  large.  How  many  a  Christian 
mother  has  found  a  strong  additional  inducement  to  the 
discharge  of  maternal  duties  from  having  devoted  her 
Samuel  in  heart  to  the  public  service  of  God  !  How 
many  a  Sunday-school  teacher  has  laboured  in  his  high 
vocation  with  increased  devotedness  when  the  thought 
arose  that  perhaps  his  class  contained  some  youthful 
Eliot  or  Brainerd  for  the  Missionary  field  !  And  what 
a  strong  incentive  to  persevering  diligence  has  the  faith- 
ful pastor  found  in  the  recollection  that  the  prosperity 
of  his  flock,  was  an  element  in  the  prosperity  of  the 
Church  at  large,  and  consequently  in  the  welfare  of  the 
entire  w^orld ! 

But  from  this  arises,  fourthly^  the  important  principle 
that,  in  proportion  as  we  scripturally  seek  the  good  of 
others,  we  ourselves  are  benefited.  For,  in  the 
instances  referred  to,  the  mother,  the  teacher,  and  the 
minister,  would  be  the  first  gainers  by  their  increased 
attention  to  their  respective  classes  of  duties ;  and  the 
son,  the  pupil,  and  the  flock,  w^ould  be  the  next,  though 
the  ultimate  object  aimed  at  was  the  good  of  parties 


352  OBJECTIONS  TO 

Still  more  remote.  And  do  you  not  know,  we  might 
say  to  the  objector,  that  this  is  only  in  harmony  with 
the  law  of  the  Divine  government  which  ordains  that 
"he  that  watereth  others  shall  himself  be  watered?" 
You  surely  do  not  suppose  that  the  fulfilment  of  this 
gracious  declaration  depends  on  geographical  limits. 
If  it  guarantees  to  the  individual  Christian  the  reflex 
benefit  of  all  the  good  he  aims  to  impart  to  his  friend ; 
and  if  it  secures  to  a  particular  Church  the  advantageous 
reaction  of  all  its  efforts  for  the  welfare  of  home,  it 
equally  engages  that  Christians  at  home  cannot  unite 
to  benefit  the  world,  without  finding  the  benefit  return 
in  showers  of  blessings  upon  themselves.  The  history 
of  modern  Missions  is,  as  we  have  already  shown,  a 
continuous  illustration  of  this  great  truth.  So  great 
has  been  the  beneficial  influence  which  they  have  been 
the  means  of  exerting  upon  the  Church  at  home,  that 
if  the  Missionaries  had  effected  little  or  no  good  among 
the  heathen,  they  have  accomplished  more  for  their 
own  countries  by  going  abroad  than  if  they  had  remained 
to  occupy  the  most  distinguished  station  at  home.  But 
of  all  this  reflex  influence  you  would  deprive  your 
country.  By  limiting  benevolent  exertion  to  your  own 
circle,  you  would  arrest  the  operation  of  a  law  by  which 
all  you  do  beyond  that  circle  is  repaid  a  hundred-fold, 
and  without  which  probably  there  would  be  no  bene- 
volent activity  at  this  moment  within  that  circle  itself. 

And  then,  fifthly^  this  reciprocity  of  religious  advan- 
tage reminds  us  of  the  great  principle  that  the  cause 
of  human  welfare  is  indivisible  and  one.  Whereas, 
your  objection  proceeds  on  the  assumption  that  the 
interests  of  religion  at  home  and  abroad  are  opposed 
to  each  other ;  so  that  whatever  is  done  to  promote  the 
one  is  so  much  lost  to  the  other.  But  is  this  a  sup- 
position worthy  of  the  professed  follower  of  Him  who 
embraced  all  the  interests  of  humanity  in  his  own  per- 
son, and  who  left  his  Gospel  in  trust  for  "every  crea- 
ture .'*"  It  is  true  that  the  claims  of  a  religious  society 
are  sometimes  magnified  beyond  their  due  proportion 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  353 

of  importance,  and  enforced  in  a  manner  which  threatens 
with  neglect  or  collision  certain  kindred  institutions. 
And  in  some  instances,  a  prior  duty  of  inferior  import- 
ance is  underrated  and  neglected  for  a  more  remote 
but  magnificent  enterprise.  But  these  are  errors  and 
evils  incident  alike  to  the  cause  of  religion  at  home  and 
abroad.  The  advocates  of  each,  however,  should  re- 
member, that  all  our  duties,  temporal  and  spiritual, 
are  so  related,  that  he  who  neglects  the  least  will  find 
no  excuse  in  pleading  that  he  was  attending  to  the 
greatest;  and  that  all  our  Christian  societies  are  so 
connected,  that  he  who  promotes  one  at  the  expense 
of  another,  inflicts  injury  upon  them  all.  The  example 
of  our  blessed  Lord  in  looking  down  from  the  Cross, 
and  tenderly  providing  for  a  mother's  comfort  in  the 
very  crisis  of  the  world's  redemption,  shows  that  all 
the  true  interests  of  humanity  are  indivisible,  and  that 
all  duty  is  sacred  and  one. 

V.  Supposing  the  objector  dislodged  from  the  pre- 
ceding position,  he  may  yet  allege  that  even  if  it  be  our 
duty  to  attempt  the  evangelization  of  the  heathen,  we 
have  not  the  necessary  funds.  This  objection,  we 
might  reply,  is  untenable  on  various  grounds  :  it  proceeds 
on  the  assumption  that  we  have  already  reached  the 
maximum  of  our  contributions  for  Missionary  objects, 
whereas  the  steadiness  with  which,  for  so  many  years, 
they  have  gone  on  annually  increasing,  W'arrants  the 
expectation  rather  that  they  will  still  continue  to  in- 
crease. The  objection  assumes,  too,  that  the  Christian 
Church  is  either  so  good  or  so  bad  as  to  admit  of  no 
improvement ;  whereas,  we  confidently  anticipate  that, 
in  answer  to  prayer,  the  vSpirit  will  exalt  the  character 
of  its  piety,  and  that,  as  one  of  the  necessary  conse- 
quences, the  pecuniary  resources  of  Christians  will  be 
consecrated  in  a  larger  proportion  than  ever  to  the 
service  of  God.  Another  of  the  false  assumptions  on 
which  the  objection  proceeds  is,  that  the  expense  of 
evangelizing  the  nations  is  always  to  devolve  entirely 
30* 


354  OBJECTIONS  TO 

on  the  Church  at  home.  But  let  Christianity  begin  to 
consecrate  to  Christian  purposes  those  immense  sums 
which  Paganism  lavishes  on  its  vain  superstitions,  and 
the  Church  at  home  might  be  reimbursed,  if  necessary, 
of  the  expenses  already  incurred.  Christianity  w^ould 
need  little  for  its  support,  compared  with  what  idolatry 
requires.  The  celebration  of  the  feast  of  the  Hindoo 
goddess  Doorga,  costs,  at  Calcutta  alone,  not  less  than 
the  annual  sum  of  five  hundred  thousand  pounds  ster- 
ling. "  In  the  kingdom  of  Siam  alone,  with  a  popula- 
tion of  four  or  five  millions,  there  are  at  least  twenty 
thousand  priests,  besides  a  great  number  of  splendid 
and  costly  pagodas,  supported  by  the  voluntary  con- 
tributions of  the  people.  In  Burmah,  India,  and  many 
Mahometan  countries,  we  find  the  same  lavish  ex- 
penditure of  talents  and  money  in  honour  of  their 
objects  of  adoration."*  Let  these  resources  be  turned 
into  the  channels  of  Christian  benevolence,  and  not 
only  will  they  be  sufficient,  by  the  Divine  blessing,  to 
irrigate  their  own  desert,  but  even  to  help  in  fertilizing 
whatever  waste  places  might  still  exist  in  our  own  borders. 
But,  most  of  all,  do  we  demur  at  the  grave  assump- 
tion, that  the  ultimate  success  of  the  Missionary  enter- 
prise depends  on  the  amount  of  our  funds.  That 
money  is  necessary  for  the  prosecution  of  our  object, 
we  admit  ;  but,  remembering  that  an  almighty  Agent 
is  graciously  working  with  us  and  by  us,  the  question 
of  "  how  much  ?"  admits  not  of  human  calculation. 
And  remembering  also  that  in  the  promises  of  Divine 
approbation  and  success,  the  stress  is  laid,  not  so  much 
on  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  offering  or  service,  as  on 
the  manner  in  which  it  is  rendered,  we  are  warranted 
in  affirming  that  the  consummation  at  which  we  aim 
depends  not  on  the  amount  of  our  resources,  but  on 
the  entireness  with  which  we  consecrate  that  amount, 
whether  great  or  small,  to  the  service  ;  that  were  we, 
on  the  one  hand  to  devote  a  thousand-fold  more  to   it, 

*  Abeel  on  Missions,  p.  142. 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  355 

we  should  not  be  warranted  to  expect  success,  if  still 
we  sacrilegiously  kept  back  a  portion  unemployed  ;  but 
that  ifj  on  the  other  hand,  our  funds,  and  agents,  and 
resources  were  to  be  ever  so  much  reduced  from  what 
they  now  are,  still  if  they  were  all  we  could  furnish, 
we  should  be  justified  in  expecting  complete  success. 
Let  the  multitude  to  be  fed  be  ever  so  large,  and  the 
means  of  feeding  them  ever  so  small,  still  if  the  whole 
of  that  scanty  provision  be  cheerfully  placed  in  the 
hand  of  Christ,  in  that  hand  it  will  be  so  greatly ,  mul- 
tiplied, that  they  shall  "all  eat  and  be  filled."'  To 
suppose,  in  such  a  case,  that  we  should  fail  in  diffusing 
the  Gospel  over  the  earth,  is  to  suppose,  either  that  we 
are  not  responsible  for  that  diffusion,  or  it  is  to  make 
that  responsibility  return,  and  rest  on  him  who  had 
imposed  it. 

VI.  Still  the  objector  may  plead,  that  since  our  Lord 
prayed  for  the  visible  union  of  all  his  followers  in  order 
to  the  conversion  of  the  world,  we  ought  not  to  embark 
in  the  Missionary  enterprise  until  that  union  has  been 
efTected.  Not  only  do  we  admit  that  this  representa- 
tion of  the  prayer  of  Christ  is  correct ;  we  believe  that 
the  spirit  of  disunion  among  Christians  is  doing  more 
at  this  moment  to  prevent  the  diffusion  and  success  of 
Christianity  in  the  world  than  all  other  causes  together. 
But  the  propriety  of  deducing  and  adopting  the  ob- 
jector's inference  from  this  admission,  we  unhesitatingly 
deny.  We  have  to  remind  him  first,  and  chiefly,  that 
the  duty  of  diffusing  the  Gospel  is  not  made  to  depend 
on  our  union,  but  on  the  explicit  command  of  Christ. 
And,  next,  we  have  to  suggest,  that  our  Lord  may  have 
evinced  his  wisdom  in  this  respect,  by  making  our  efforts 
for  that  diffusion  conducive  to  the  restoration  of  that 
union.  Now  this,  we  submit,  is  actually  the  fact. 
The  common  ground  of  benevolent  activity  is  almost 
the  only  bond  of  the  visible  union  of  Christians  which 
remains  unbroken.  And  it  is  the  growing  conviction 
of  the  writer,  that  as  this  is  almost  the  last  ligament 


356  OBJECTIONS  TO 

which  visibly  holds  them  together,  so  it  is  likely  to  be 
the  first  and  the  principal  means  which  God  will  employ 
in  again  restoring  them  to  each  other's  love.  Whether 
he  will  compel  them  thus  to  unite,  in  mere  self-defence 
against  the  counter-activity  of  a  world  whose  interests 
they  are  betraying  and  neglecting  by  their  divisions ; 
or  whether,  by  an  effusion  of  the  Spirit  of  love  and 
zeal,  he  may  lead  them  to  think  more  of  the  will  of 
Christ  than  of  the  claim  of  parly,  we  stay  not  now  to 
inquire.  But  judging  of  the  superior  facilities  for 
union  which  plans  of  benevolent  activity  present,  and 
from  the  deepening  conviction  of  Christians  that  such 
combination  is  made  essential  to  the  conversion  of  the 
world,  we  repeat  our  belief  that  benevolent  co-operation 
is  likely  to  be  the  principal  means  of  restoring  Christian 
union. 

Thus  the  objection  against  Christian  Missions  is 
turned  into  an  argument  in  their  behalf.  They  make 
us  feel  that  we  have  a  common  object  and  a  common 
interest ;  and  what  can  the  effect  of  that  be  but  to 
inspire  us  with  sentiments  of  reciprocal  affection  .'*  Let 
us  only  meet  on  common  ground,  hail  each  other  as 
auxiliaries  to  the  same  grand  cause,  and  co-operate  for 
the  common  interests  of  the  world,  and  how  necessarily 
would  our  groundless  dislikes  give  place  to  a  feeling 
which  would  deprecate  every  project  to  disjoin,  and 
welcome  such  measures  only  as  tended  more  closely  to 
unhe.  If  it  be  true  of  the  blessed  God,  that  *^'lhey 
who  know  his  name  wiU  put  their  trust  in  him,"  it 
must  be  true,  in  a  subordinate  but  corresponding  sense, 
that  the  more  his  people,  as  such,  know  of  each  other 
— of  their  mutual  resemblance  to  him,  their  common 
concern  for  the  salvation  of  the  world,  and  their  zeal 
for  his  glory — the  more  sincerely  will  they  admire  each 
other's  piety,  and  the  more  will  they  unite  for  the 
achievement  of  their  common  object ;  while  the  only 
contention  between  them  will  be  that  of  the  vine  with 
the  olive,  which  shall  bear  the  best  and  most  abundant 
fruit. 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPKISE.  357 

VII.  The  objection  of  the  millenarian — that  the  con- 
version of  the  heathen  is  reserved  for  the  second  coming 
of  Christ,  and  consequently,  all  attempts  to  effect  the 
object  by  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel  will  prove  useless 
— we  have  considered  at  length  in  the  first  Part  of  this 
Treatise.  The  reader  may  remember  that  we  have 
there  endeavoured  to  show,  that  such  an  inference  is 
at  variance  with  some  of  the  admitted  principles  and 
necessary  deductions  of  Divine  Revelation  ;  that  it  is 
not  warranted  by  prophecy ;  but  that  the  very  reverse 
is  the  doctrine  of  the  prophetic  Scriptures  ;  and  is 
found  to  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  every  other  part 
of  the  word  of  God  by  which  its  correctness  can  be 
properly  tested.  The  prosecution  of  the  inquiry  dis- 
closes, if  we  mistake  not,  the  important  facts,  that 
whatever  conflicts  may  hereafter  ensue  between  the 
Church  and  the  world,  will  arise  from  the  success  of 
the  Gospel ;  and  that  whatever  judgments  the  earth 
may  yet  be  called  to  witness,  will  only  concur  with 
the  power  of  the  Gospel  to  enlarge  the  domains  of 
the  Christian  faith.  So  that  those  very  predictions 
which  are  too  often  made  to  depress  the  hopes  and 
dishearten  the  zeal  of  the  Church,  will  be  found  cal- 
culated, when  rightly  understood,  to  animate  its  activity 
as  with  the  blast  of  a  trumpet. 

VIII.  And  another  objection,  not  very  remotely  al- 
lied to  the  last,  amounts  to  this,  "  The  time  is  not  come, 
the  time  that  the  Lord's  house  should  be  built."  V^hen 
that  selected  time  arrives,  the  Almighty  will  easily  find 
means  to  accomplish  the  conversion  of  the  world  ;  and 
till  then,  all  our  efforts  are  premature  and  presump- 
tuous, and  must  prove  abortive.  In  reply  to  this  Islam- 
ite doctrine,  we  might  say  to  the  objector,  Your  con- 
duct in  urging  this  objection  is  inconsistent  with  your 
creed ;  for  how  do  you  know  that  it  is  the  will  of 
God  that  you  should  urge  it?  Why  "use  the  means" 
for  correcting  our  supposed  errors  ?  Are  you  not  by 
this  very  act   "•  taking  God's  work  out  of  his  hands?'* 


358  OBJECTIONS  TO 

had  you  not  better  leave  him  to  take  care  of  his  own 
cause?  When  " the  time  comes"  for  God  to  correct 
our  errors,  will  he  not  find  an  abundance  of  means 
without  disquieting  you?  and  till  then,  is  it  not  pre- 
sumptuous for  you  to  attempt  to  "take  the  work 
out  of  his  hands  ?"  If,  however,  on  some  inexplicable 
ground,  you  still  consider  yourself  justified  in  "using 
means"  to  denounce  the  Missionary  enterprise,  are  you 
using  means  enough  ?  Ought  not  your  opposition  to 
become  more  practical  and  laborious  ?  If  you  really 
believe  we  are  forestalling  the  appointments  of  Heaven 
in  assailing  the  idolatries  of  the  heathen  world,  and 
tormenting  the  demons  before  their  time,  ought  you  not 
to  employ  counter-^Iissionaries,  for  instance,  to  protect 
those  abominations,  and  to  prolong  their  reign  for  a 
season  longer  ?  But  perhaps  your  principle  of  interfer- 
ence only  applies  to  those  cases  in  which  labours  are 
unnecessary,  and  serious  sacrifices  not  required. 

You  surely  do  not  presume  to  plead  that  because 
God  permits  the  existence  of  heathenism — does  not 
arbitrarily  destroy  it — therefore  it  is  not  for  you  to 
attempt  to  reduce  it.  This  plea  would  not  avail  you 
unless  you  could  assign  the  same  reasons  for  your  con- 
duct, which  God  can  for  Ids.  And  not  only  must  your 
reasons  be  identical  with  his,  your  conduct  in  relation 
to  heathenism  must  harmonize  with  his.  But  this  it 
cannot,  except  by  your  cordially  embarking  in  the  IMis- 
sionary  enterprise.  For  has  he  not  maintained  an  un- 
broken contest  with  the  evil  ?  Have  not  cities,  nations, 
a  world,  perished  for  it  ?  Has  your  zeal  ever  flamed 
against  it  ?  He  has  appointed  and  put  into  operation 
a  grand  system  of  means  divinely  adapted  to  subvert 
the  reign  of  evil ;  what  are  you  doing  to  give  that 
system  impulse  and  activity  ?  He  has  laid  a  command 
on  every  member  of  his  Church  to  assist  in  sending  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature ;  so  that  if  you  are  not  ren- 
dering it  obedience,  and  calling  on  others  to  join  you, 
the  sense  in  which  you  are  content  to  permit  the  con- 
tinuance of  heathenism,  differs  essentially  from  the  only 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  359 

sense  in  which  he  can  be  said  to  suffer  it.  Every 
attribute  of  his  nature  is  in  hostiHty  to  it ;  every  prin- 
ciple of  his  government — the  whole  course  of  his  provi- 
dence— is  arrayed  against  it ;  the  great  wonder,  the 
miracle  of  his  mercy,  is,  that  he  should  permit  the 
continuance,  age  after  age,  of  a  Church  which  he  has 
called  into  existence,  partly  for  the  purpose  of  extin- 
guishing that  evil,  but  many  of  whose  members  still 
plead,  "the  time  is  not  come — the  work  is  not  ours  but 
God's." 

Perhaps,  however,  you  profess  to  be  only  waiting  for 
the  necessary  indications,  in  order  to  evince  your  perfect 
readiness  to  act.  But  yours  must  be  a  very  controllable 
zeal,  if  it  does  not  sometimes  quicken  into  impatience 
for  the  arrival  of  the  sufficient  signs.  Inspired  men 
of  old  often  expressed  themselves  in  language  whicli 
showed  that  they  would  fain  have  multiplied  themselves 
and  their  means  a  thousand  fold  against  the  prevalent 
idolatry.  Now  that  must  be  a  state  of  mind  of  a  very 
different  order  which  leads  you  to  regard  exemption 
from  such  hostility  as  a  favour,  and  to  denounce  the 
activity  of  others  as  presumption. 

But  what  are  the  signs  from  heaven  which  you  would 
deem  sufficient  to  warrant  you  in  joining  the  Mis- 
sionary enterprise  ^  Would  a  direct  and  express  com- 
mand possess  any  weight  with  you  .''  Never  has  the 
Lord  of  the  Church  ceased  to  say,  not  to  you  merely, 
but  to  every  member  of  that  Church,  "Preach  my 
Gospel  to  every  creature."  Would  you  regard  the 
concurrence  of  the  providence  of  God  with  the  com- 
mand of  his  word,  as  an  additional  call  to  action  ? 
Behold  it  in  the  disappearance  of  numerous  obstacles 
to  Missionary  exertion ;  in  the  rapid  accumulation  of 
important  facilities ;  and  in  the  fact  that  so  many 
hundreds  of  agents  are  at  this  moment  actually  occu- 
pied in  the  Missionary  field.  Would  you  regard  their 
success  as  another  indication  that  the  time  for  action 
has  arrived  ?  How  could  you  venture  a  different  inter- 
pretation .''     Here  then  are  thousands  converted  by  their 


560  OBJECTIONS  TO 

instrumentality ;  you  surely  will  not  think,  for  the  sake 
of  a  theory,  of  ascribing  their  change  to  any  other  than 
a  Divine  agency.  Remember,  then,  that  each  of  these 
conversions  is  to  be  regarded  as  an  argument  from 
heaven  against  your  non-interfering  views  ;  and  as  a 
Divine  reward  to  the  friends  of  Missions  for  having 
acted  on  principles  directly  opposite.  And  would  you 
interpret  the  readiness  and  anxiety  of  the  heathen  to 
receive  Christian  instruction,  as  an  additional  sign  that 
the  Missionary  era  had  come  ?  The  Lord  of  Missions 
appears  to  have  regarded  such  readiness  as  a  call  to 
activity,  when  he  directed  his  disciples  to  mark  that 
the  fields  were  white  to  the  harvest.  Far  wider  fields 
invite  our  attention.  In  every  direction,  the  vision  of 
the  "man  of  Macedonia"  is,  in  effect,  repeated,  and 
heathen  voices  are  heard  lifted  up  in  earnest  application 
for  help. 

Now  is  it  possible  that  you  should  still  require  other 
signs  that  the  period  for  labour  has  come,  before  you 
will  consent  to  move  ?  The  Reformers,  there  is  ground 
to  believe,  deemed  less  than  these  sufficient  to  justify 
them  in  attempting  to  shake  the  Church,  and  the  world. 
And,  judging  from  the  results,  you  would  not  say  that 
ihey  displeased  God  by  the  attempt.  His  most  dis- 
tinguished servants  appear  to  have  regarded  his  express 
command,  and  opportunity  to  perform  it,  as  always 
sufficient  to  create  obligation  to  obedience ;  and  the 
success  of  their  endeavours  has  convincingly  shown  that 
they  were  not  mistaken.  With  such  strong  and  nu- 
merous inducements  to  Missionary  devotedness  as  we 
possess,  then,  our  only  fear  for  ourselves  is,  lest  we 
should  incur  the  rebuke  of  "the  unprofitable  servant;" 
and  for  you,  lest  you  should  fall  under  the  spirit  of  the 
fearful  denunciation,  "Curse  ye  Meroz,  curse  ye  bit- 
terly, because  they  came  not  out  to  the  help  of  the 
Lord,  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty." 

One  of  the  remarks  inevitably  suggested  by  our 
survey  of  the  preceding  objections  is,  that  each  of  them, 
relying  on  some  partial  view  of  the  truth,  overlooks 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  361 

the  great  principle  of  revelation  to  which  it  belongs, 
and  by  which  it  must  be  decided.  Who,  for  instance, 
could  ever  have  brought  himself  to  look  on  heathenism, 
as  if  it  were  in  amicable  coexistence  with  the  Divine 
government,  or  on  the  heathens  themselves  as  being 
in  any  other  state  than  that  of  the  most  fearful  exposure 
to  everlasting  death,  unless  he  had  lost  sight  of  the 
universal  and  unrepealable  law,  "  Thou  shalt  have  none 
other  gods  before  me  ?"  Or,  who  could  have  deemed 
it  a  valid  objection  to  say  that  heathenism  is  unalter- 
able, until  he  had  forgotten  that  the  Gospel  was 
launched  at  first  into  an  ocean  of  heathenism — for, 
with  the  exception  of  Judea,  the  whole  world  was  an 
idolatrous  temple ;  that  if  the  case  is  altered  now,  the 
Gospel  has  been  the  means  of  affecting  the  change ; 
that  he  himself  and  those  around  him  are,  in  their 
own  persons,  an  answer  to  the  objection ;  and  that  the 
Gospel  is  still  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to 
every  one  that  believeth  ?  Or,  who  could  think  that 
he  was  acting  scripturally  in  confining  his  evangelical 
desires  and  endeavours  exclusively  to  one  nation,  even 
though  that  nation  be  his  own,  until  he  had  forgotten 
the  great  principle  of  our  Lord's  command,  that  the 
Gospel  is  designed  equally  for  all  nations  ? 

Another  reflection  forced  on  us  by  these  objections 
is,  that  many,  if  not  all  of  them  have  been  defended 
with  a  pertinacity  which  zeal  for  the  truth  can  seldom 
command.  If  those  who  entertain  them  set  a  high 
value  on  religious  distinctness  from  the  world,  they  are 
certainly  unfortunate  in  having  adopted  objections  to 
the  Missionary  cause,  which,  as  far  as  they  go,  com- 
pletely identify  them  with  the  world.  And  we  will 
venture  to  suggest  whether  it  ought  not  to  awaken 
their  suspicion  as  to  the  soundness  of  their  views  on 
finding,  that  if  indolence,  self-indulgence,  and  unbelief, 
could  speak  on  the  subject,  it  would  be  to  repeat  the 
very  same  objections  in  the  same  language. 

But  chiefly  we  are  reminded,  that  Christian  Missions 
have  this  mark,  in  common  with  the  Gospel,  that  they 
31 


262  OBJECTIONS  TO 

are  not  of  men  but  of  God,  that  every  objection 
brought  against  them  can  be  so  easily  converted  into 
an  argument  in  their  behalf.  And  this  removal  of  the 
war  from  our  own  into  the  enemies'  country  takes  place, 
be  it  observed,  in  every  instance,  not  merely  by  a 
triumphant  appeal  to  undeniable  and  accumulating  facts, 
but  also  on  the  authority  of  one  or  more  of  those  great 
principles  of  the  word  of  God  which  the  objector  had 
overlooked.  Thus,  does  he  plead  that  Missionary  effort 
is  unnecessary,  because  the  state  of  the  heathen  is  not 
so  desperate  as  we  seem  to  imagine  ?  We  can  show 
him  that  if  rampant  rebellion  against  God  be  a  state  of 
guilt  ;  if  to  be  hopeless  and  Godless  be  a  condition  of 
misery  ;  and  if  the  most  fearful  threatenings  of  the 
offended  Majesty  of  heaven  be  a  just  ground  of  terror, 
then  is  the  whole  idolatrous  world  in  a  state  of  the  most 
crying  and  appalling  want  ;  for  such  are  their  guilt,  and 
wretchedness,  and  danger,  that  hell  may  be  said  to  have 
come  to  them  on  this  side  of  death.  Does  he  regard  the 
Missionary  object  as  impracticable  }  We  can  show  him 
that  the  difficulties  are  vanishing  while  he  is  speaking 
of  them.  We  can  call  for  the  trophies  of  Divine  success 
— and  they  come  from  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth. 
Impracticable  !  What,  when  hundreds  of  Missionaries 
are  actually  in  the  field  ;  thousands,  tens,  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  heathens  converted  and  collected  into 
Christian  societies,  and  of  their  children  receiving 
Christian  instruction  !  No  good  done  !  Spirits  of  the 
blessed,  who  have  ascended  from  the  Missionary  churches 
to  join  the  ranks  of  the  redeemed  out  of  all  nations 
and  kindreds,  and  who  are  now  before  the  throne — is 
your  salvation  nothing  ?  Nothing  to  yourselves,  as  you 
glance  from  the  depths  you  have  escaped  to  the  heights 
you  have  attained  !  Nothing  to  the  society  you  have 
joined  !  Nothing  to  Him,  the  light  of  whose  coun- 
tenance is  at  this  moment  falling  on  you,  and  making 
your  heaven  ?  The  objection  is  turned  into  a  rebuke 
that  we  should  have  been  detained  by  it  so  long.  In 
a  word,  whatever  his  pleas  may  be,  unless  he  can  show 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  363 

that  the  great  command  of  Christ  to  preach  the  Gospel 
to  every  creature — a  command  frequently  repeated,  and 
variously  enforced  in  Scripture  as  the  law  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church — has  been  modified  or  repealed,  we  con- 
fidently bring  down  its  annihilating  weight  on  all  his 
objections,  and  challenge  him,  as  one  included  in  the 
principle  which  it  contains,  that  all  who  possess  the 
Gospel  are  bound  to  co-operate  to  the  extent  of  their 
abihty  in  giving  it  to  the  world. 


PART  V 


THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  IN  RELATION 
TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE  ;  OR,  THE  NECES- 
SITY OF  EMINENT  PIETY,  AND  ENTIRE  CONSECRA- 
TION, IN  ORDER  TO  ENLARGED  SUCCESS. 


THE    WANTS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH  IN   RELATION    TO 

MISSIONS. 

The  prosecution  of  our  prescribed  course,  has  brought 
us  to  a  very  important  part  of  our  subject.  If,  as  we 
have  shown  in  the  First  Part,  the  Church  is  constructed 
expressly  to  embody  and  diffuse  the  influence  of  the 
Crgiss^ihroughout  the  world  ;  if  the  Second  Part  proves 
that,  as  far  as  the  Church  has  answered  this  end  in  the 
modern  Missionary  enterprise,  its  success  has  been  fully 
proportioned  to  its  efforts  ;  if  the  Third  Part  has  shown 
that  encouragements  from  every  quarter  urge  and  ani- 
mate us  to  advance  in  our  Missionary  career  ;  and  if  the 
Fourth  Part  assures  us  that  every  objection  to  our  course 
becomes,  when  rightly  considered,  an  argument  to  re- 
double our  efforts — an  unreflecting  reader  might  be 
ready  to  conclude  that  nothing  remains  for  us  but  mutual 
congratulations  and  unalloyed  satisfaction. 

The  enlightened  Christian,  however,  need  not  be  re- 
minded that,  as  in  his  own  experience,  a  sense  of  joy 
in  God,  and  of  dissatisfaction  with  himself  often   meet 
together  in  the  same  moment,  so  the  hour  in  which  the 
31* 


366  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

Church  may  have  the  greatest  reason  to  rejoice  through 
God  in  its  relative  usefulness,  may  be  the  hour  in  which 
the  dust  of  self-abasement  may  most  become  it  on 
account  of  its  own  defective  instrumentality.  He  will 
remember  that,  however  "the  manifold  wisdom  of  God" 
may  have  been  displayed  in  organizing  his  Church  for 
usefulness,  but  few  of  its  members  as  yet  may  have 
perceived  that  adaptation,  and  fewer  still  have  com- 
bined to  exemplify  it  in  practice.  He  will  remember 
that  while  the  Church  now,  as  compared  with  what  it 
has  been,  may  be  doing  much,  yet  compared  with  what 
it  should  be,  it  may  be  doing  nothing  ;  that  its  fitness 
for  one  office,  by  no  means  implies  a  fitness  for  every 
order  of  duty ;  and  that  its  very  improvement  may  be 
made  in  a  manner  which  may  justly  incur  rebuke. 
He  is  aware  that  much  collective  activity  may  exist 
where  there  is  but  very  little  individual  zeal ;  that, 
owing  to  the  blessing  of  God  on  that  activity,  oppor- 
tunities of  usefulness  may  increase  more  rapidly  than 
our  readiness  to  seize  and  improve  them ;  and  that,  in 
this  manner,  success  itself  may  become  a  snare  and  a 
burden.  And  remembering  all  this,  the  effect  of  the 
preceding  survey  will  be  that  so  far  from  hastily  sur- 
rendering himself  to  the  pleasing  but  hazardous  con- 
clusion that  all  is  well,  he  will  feel  that  now  has 
arrived  the  time  for  humble,  searching,  anxious  self- 
examination  ;  that  to  detect  an  evil  now,  may  be  the 
means  of  saving  us  from  undue  elation  at  present,  and 
from  much  mortification  in  the  future  ;  and  that  to 
point  out  the  great  want  of  the  Church  now,  may  be 
to  bring  to  it  present  prosperity,  and  to  hasten  by 
ages  the  glory  of  God  in  the  salvation  of  the  world. 

But  how  is  this  examination  of  the  Church  to  be 
conducted ;  or,  where  is  to  be  found  the  test  of  its 
fitness  for  converting  the  world  ?  This  can  only  be 
found  in  its  original  constitution.  Now  on  looking  back 
to  our  exposition  of  Christian  instrumentality  it  will 
be  seen  that,  according  to  that  constitution,  the  indi- 
vidual  Christian,    the    particular   Church,    the   entire 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  367 

Christian  community — the  whole,  penetrated  and  actu- 
ated by  the  Holy  Spirit — is  intended  relatively  to  act 
in  harmony  with  the  Cross  for  the  good  of  the  world. 
Every  addition  made  to  it,  is  meant  to  be  an  addi- 
tional agent  for  carrying  out  the  purposes  of  the  Cross. 
Every  element  at  work  in  it — whether  it  arises  from 
numbers  and  combination,  from  eminent  piety,  self- 
denial,  and  zeal,  or  from  prayer,  and  the  influence  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  uniting  with  the  whole — is  an  element 
for  drawing  men  to  Christ. 

But  if  the  full  efficiency  of  the  Church  for  this  end, 
depends,  under  God,  on  the  entireness  of  its  consecration 
to  this  office,  it  will  follow  that  the  slightest  diversion 
of  its  influence  from  this  object  is  so  much  given  to 
the  very  power  which  it  was  called  into  existence  ex- 
pressly to  counteract ;  and  that  this  is,  in  eftect,  the 
secret  of  its  long  decline  and  fall. 

But  then,  it  follows  also,  that  if,  at  length,  in  that 
depressed  state,  the  Church  should  awake  to  a  sense 
of  its  responsibility  as  a  Missionary  agent  for  the 
world's  recovery  to  Christ — if  then  it  should  withhold 
any  proportion  of  its  influence,  in  that  very  proportion 
it  would  stand  disqualified  for  answering  its  great  origi- 
nal design.  In  this  position  the  Church  now  stands  ; 
and  here,  we  repeat,  is  the  test  of  its  fitness,  at  present, 
for  its  Missionary  office.  To  bring  it  to  this  test, 
indeed,  has  been  the  duty  of  every  age.  But  never  so 
much  so  as  now,  when  after  the  slumber  of  centuries, 
it  is  meditating  the  renovation  of  the  world. 

Now,  on  calling  upon  the  Christian  Church  to  muster 
for  this  review,  is  it  not  ominous  at  the  outset  that 
we  know  not  who  will  appear .''  In  answer  to  the 
name  of  Christian,  indeed,  about  two  hundred  mil- 
lions present  themselves.  But  the  great  majority  of 
these  Christianity  disowns.  She  knows  them  not. 
Many  of  them  are  among  the  chosen  of  Satan.  The 
heathen  around  them  are  the  worse  for  their  vicinity. 
They  must  be  dismissed  by  millions  to  the  ranks  of 
the  foe.     And  thus,   like   Gideon's  army,   the  number 


368  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

is  reduced  by  a  single  sweep  to  a  comparative  few. 
And  here  goes,  at  first,  the  influence  of  numbers. 

But  perhaps,  it  may  be  said,  that  large  portions  of 
Christendom  make  no  pretentions  to  the  Missionary 
spirit,  and  ought  not  therefore  to  be  subjected  to  the 
examination.  Without  stopping  to  contest  the  point, 
and  in  order  to  be  definite,  let  us  suppose  that  after 
all  such  portions  have  been  dismissed,  those  who  re- 
main before  us  consist  of  the  various  denominations 
professing  evangelical  Christianity.  Let  us  indulge  the 
hope  that  as  they  are  so  reduced  in  number,  and  as 
each  equally  professes  to  live  for  the  salvation  of  the 
world,  they  have  at  least  learnt  the  unspeakable  value 
of  union.  United  !  Union  I  What  does  it  mean } 
When  did  it  exist  ?  is  it  not  a  fiction  of  the  fancy  ^ 
If  there  be  such  a  thing,  the  Church  practically  disowns 
it.  Whatever  sympathetic  connexion  may  here  and 
there  exist  among  individual  Christians,  the  Church,  as 
a  Church,  disowns  it.  See  how  these  Christians  hate  ! 
In  their  visible  and  public  capacity,  they  scorn  to  ap- 
proach each  other.  They  expend  more  strength  in 
struggling  with  each  other  than  in  encountering  the 
world.  The  world  looks  on  amused.  Infidelity  claps 
her  hands.     And  thus  is  lost  the  influence  of  union. 

But  though  it  be  thus  divided  as  a  whole,  let  us 
hope  to  find  that  the  members  of  each  particular  Church 
are  alive  and  devoted  as  one  man  to  its  Missionary 
design.  Let  us  take  one  Church  as  a  specimen  of  all. 
Here  are  a  thousand  souls,  we  will  suppose,  assembled 
for  Christian  worship.  As  the  service  proceeds,  the 
time  for  commemorating  the  great  doctrine  of  the  Cross 
arrives.  The  majority  arise  and  quit  the  place  ;  thus 
practically  disavowing  all  belief  in  the  doctrine,  or  all 
interest  in  it  ;  and  leaving  it  to  be  inferred  that,  for 
aught  they  care,  the  world  may  forget,  if  it  will,  that 
Christianity  has  a  Cross,  or  that  Christ  died  on  it  for 
our  redemption. 

But  still  we  will  suppose,  a  large  minority  remains. 
Do  we,  however,  flatter  ourselves  that  we   shall  find 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  369 

general  co-operation  and  devotedness  here  ?  We  only 
evince  our  ignorant  simplicity.  True,  they  have  just 
pledged  themselves  anew  at  the  table  of  the  Lord  to 
the  cause  of  the  world's  salvation  ;  but  let  us  wait 
awhile,  and  we  shall  soon  see  how  httle  that  means — 
nothing  incompatible  with  the  most  unmoved  worldly 
self-indulgence.  We  expected  to  see  them  all  equally 
interested  in  the  object  ;  but  let  us  wait  awhile,  and  we 
shall  see  that  the  task  of  keeping  them  thus  partially 
awake,  devolves  entirely  on  two  or  three.  We  might 
have  expected  to  see  these,  at  least,  nobly  devote  to 
Christ  a  portion  of  the  time  which  the  world  devotes 
entirely  to  the  pursuits  of  gain  ;  but  no,  religion  must 
wait  till  the  world  has  been  fully  satisfied  ;  and  then, 
if  a  few  of  the  jaded  moments  of  evening  are  of  service, 
they  are  spared. 

Agents  of  mercy  are  wanted  for  distant  lands  ;  and 
we  might  have  expected  to  see  them  start  forth  from 
the  ranks  of  the  rich  and  the  poor  alike  ;  or,  rather,  we 
might  have  looked  to  see  those  who  would  require  the 
least  delay  for  educational  preparation  and  support,  offer 
themselves  first.  Might  we  so  ?  What,  when  the  act 
would  involve  the  danger  of  losing  caste  with  the  world  ? 
Surely  we  did  not  expect  to  see  them  incur  such  a  risk 
merely  for  the  sake  of  saving  immortal  souls.  True, 
the  act  would  have  the  noblest  effect  both  on  the  Church 
and  on  the  world  ;  but  we  cannot  expect  them  to  sacri- 
fice gentility,  and  ease,  and  the  prospect  of  worldly 
gain,  for  such  an  object ! 

Wealth  is  wanted  to  prepare  and  send  forth  those 
who  do  offer  themselves — all  the  superfluous  wealth  of 
the  Church.  But  what  do  we  behold  .''  not  only  is 
every  other  claimant  satisfied  first ;  not  only  is  self,  the 
most  clamorous  of  them  all,  appeased — but  only  a 
fraction  of  what  is  left  is  then  placed  on  the  altar  of 
Christ. 

Prayer  is  wanted  ;  and  from  what  we  hear  them  say 
of  its  efficacy,  we  might  expect,  that,  however  remiss 
in  other  means,  they  would  not  neglect  this  ;  that  per- 


370  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHUKCH 

haps,  they  were  indifferent  to  the  others,  only  to  reserve 
the  ardour  of  their  souls  for  this.  But  when  the 
monthly  or  periodical  season  comes  round,  when  the 
Church  is  supposed  to  be  all  collected  and  intent  on 
obtaining  an  audience  of  Heaven,  on  the  subject  of  the 
world's  salvation,  what  do  we  behold  ?  Crowds  throng- 
ing and  besieging  heaven  with  supplications  ?  the 
strong  cries  of  a  Church  travailing  to  bring  forth  ?  The 
reply  is  too  obvious  to  be  necessary.  Here,  then,  is 
lost  the  influence  of  self-denial,  consistency,  and  prayer. 

That  exceptions  to  this  representation  exist,  we  gladly 
admit — exceptions  which  stand  out  in  bold  and  bright 
relief — and  owing  to  which  it  is,  that  the  Church  is 
not  actually  retrograde.  But  that  this  is  the  rule,  we 
confidently  appeal  to  observation  and  experience.  Need 
we  then  ask,  if  the  Spirit  is  visibly  and  gloriously 
present  with  the  Church  ?  Present  with  individual 
ministers  and  members  of  the  Church,  to  a  certain 
extent,  he  is  ;  present  with  certain  Societies  composed 
of  a  number  of  such  ministers  and  members,  he  is 
— Societies  which  are  the  salt  of  the  Churches,  as 
Christians  are  said  to  be  the  salt  of  the  earth — but 
present  with  a  Church,  as  a  Church,  he  is  not.  As 
a  Church,  Christians  do  not  invoke  him.  As  a  Church, 
they  are  not  awake  to  their  responsibility.  And  how 
can  he,  the  great  JMissionary  Spirit,  sent  to  convince 
the  world  of  sin,  honour  a  Church  which  is  so  generally 
content  that  the  world  should  remain  unconvinced  ? 
How  can  his  activity  combine  with  its  comparative 
indolence  ? — his  love  mingle  with  its  internal  hatred  ? 
— his  gushing  benevolence,  with  its  supine  self-in- 
dulgence ? 

In  thus  exposing  the  defects  of  the  Christian  Church, 
in  relation  to  its  Missionary  office,  we  have  abridged 
the  unwelcome  task  as  much  as  is  consistent  with  the 
object  of  showing  that  defects  exist  with  a  view  of  point- 
ing out  the  remedy.  And  if  this  sketch  be  correct,  can 
we  wonder  if  the  world  is  slow  to  receive  the  Gospel 
at   our  hands  ?     What  reason  has  the  Church,  as  a 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  S71 

Church,  yet  given  the  world  that  she  herself  believes 
it  ?  Here  and  there  an  individual  member  acts  out  his 
principles,  and  the  world  admits  his  sincerity;  and, 
however  it  may  dislike  his  holiness,  is  almost  as  ready 
to  admire  his  consistency  and  exemplariness,  as  the 
Church  itself.  But  what  reason  has  the  Church  gene- 
rally given  the  world  to  believe  it  sincere  ?  For  fifteen 
hundred  years  the  wealth  of  the  world  was  passing 
through  its  hands  ;  did  it  employ  that  mighty  talent  for 
the  world's  conversion  ?  The  world  itself  was  at  its 
feet ;  did  it  do  much  better  than  trample  on  it  ?  Again 
the  w^orld,  in  a  nobler  sense,  is  at  our  feet;  asking  us, 
if  not  in  anguish  of  soul,  at  least,  with  marks  of  visible 
concern,  what  it  must  do  to  be  saved.  Providence  is 
urging  us  to  answer  the  question ;  Christ  is  saying, 
" Go  and  proclaim  the  Cross  to  every  creature;"  and 
we  ourselves  professing  to  believe  that  we  hold  in  our 
hands  the  means  of  success — professing  to  exult  that 
the  Gospel  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation — can  yet 
hardly  bring  ourselves  to  tell  more  than  one  in  a  thou- 
sand, that  there  is  any  salvation ;  and,  professing  to 
believe  that  Christ  has  an  absolute  claim  on  all  we  have, 
can  hardly  bring  ourselves  to  surrender  sufficient  to  tell 
that  one  in  a  thousand.  Oh,  if  our  Lord  had  forbade 
self-denial — if  he  were  now  to  repeal  the  law  of  self-con- 
secration, and  to  enact  a  law  of  self-indulgence — would 
not  the  great  majority  of  his  people  be  found  in  a  state 
of  perfect  obedience  ?  If  living  to  themselves  would 
convert  the  world,  how  long  since  would  the  world  have 
been  saved  ! 

Do  we — can  we  wonder  that  no  more  good  has  been 
effected  by  us  ?  What,  when  we  are  acting  in  almost 
entire  oblivion  of  the  Scripture  theory  of  Christian 
usefulness  ?  When,  as  members  of  the  Christian 
Church,  we  are  violating  almost  every  part  of  that 
theory  ?  What,  when  we  have  had  to  act  in  the  face 
not  merely  of  a  sinful  world,  but  of  the  still  more  hos- 
tile influences  arising  from  our  own  selfish  inconsist- 
ency ?     When  the  influence  of  the  little  we  have  done, 


372  THE  WANTS  OP  THE  CHURCH 

has  been  fearfully  diminished  by  the  neutralizing  effect 
of  the  much  we  have  left  undone  ?  We  have  had  to 
act  against  ourselves.  The  world  quotes  us  as  autho- 
rity against  ourselves.  Our  habits  neutralize  our  acts. 
Our  deeds  contradict  and  silence  our  professions.  The 
powerful  influence  which  should  have  arisen  from  our 
evident  union,  disinterestedness,  and  self-consecration, 
though  lost  to  us,  is  not  lost  to  the  conflict  in  which 
we  are  engaged  ;  it  is  arrayed  against  us  ;  it  is  more 
effectual  than  all  other  influences  combined,  in  render- 
ing powerless  the  effect  of  our  actual  efforts.  The 
wonder  is,  then,  that  efforts  so  slender,  divided,  and 
languid  as  ours  are,  should  have  been  attended,  not 
with  so  little,  but  with  so  much  success.  The  glory 
is  more  evidently  the  Lord's. 

Can  we  doubt,  then,  what  it  is  which  the  Missionary 
Church  of  Christ  requires  ?  simply  to  realize  the  Scrip- 
ture requirement  of  entire  consecration  to  its  office. 
Let  us  not  say,  in  excuse,  it  has  never  been  realized. 
Never  by  a  Church,  perhaps,  but  by  more  of  its  indi- 
vidual members  than  history  records,  or  than  we  may 
imagine.  Religion  has  ever  had  a  few  such  on  the 
earth;  and  to  that  two  or  three  the  Church  has  been 
more  indebted,  under  God,  than  to  all  its  other  con- 
temporaneous members  together.  If  corrupt,  they  have 
saved  it  from  sinking  under  the  weight  of  its  evils.  If 
sunk,  they  have  helped  it  to  rise.  And,  hence,  when 
an  enlightened  posterity  records  the  annals  of  their 
age,  their  names  are  almost  the  only  honoured.  When 
the  Holy  Spirit  himself  indites  the  "Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles," he  comparatively  passes  by  afl  the  rest,  to  do 
honour  to  the  man  who  went  through  the  world  ex- 
claiming, ''None  of  us  liveth  to  himself."  Let  us  not 
say,  again,  ''My  domestic  claims — my  children — re- 
quire my  time,  absorb  my  property,  and  thus  curtail 
my  usefulness."  They  were  meant  to  increase  our  use- 
fulness ;  to  augment  the  moral  treasures  of  the  Church  ; 
to  multiply  its  agencies  of  good  to  the  world.  Are 
they  not  training  up  for  God .?     What,  is  the  sum  of 


IN  RELATION  TO  IVUSSIONS.  373 

our  moral  history  to  be,  that  we  contributed  a  trifle 
in  money  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  left  our  children 
to  carry  on  the  cause  of  Satan  ?  Better  for  the  Chris- 
tian cause  had  we  never  been  born.  As  if  they  had 
been  sent  down  to  us  from  heaven  with  a  charge  from 
Christ  to  prepare  them  for  his  service,  let  us  look  on 
them  as  the  instruments  by  which,  while  we  live,  we 
may  extend  our  usefulness  ;  and  by  which,  when  dead, 
we  may  still  continue  to  say  to  posterity,  "None  of  us 
liveth  to  himself." 

Can  we  doubt,  then,  we  repeat,  what  it  is  which  the 
Church  requires  ?  A  growing  desire  to  be  useful  we 
have :  and  a  growing  disposition  to  be  active.  But 
that  which  we  most  require,  and  for  the  want  of 
which  no  activity  can  ever  compensate,  is  a  fitness,  that 
moral  fitness  which  springs  from  disinterested  devoted- 
ness  to  the  one  object  of  the  world's  salvation.  If 
religion  has  not  yet  mastered  us,  how  can  we  expect 
by  it  to  master  others  ?  How  can  we  speak  effectively 
for  religion  to  the  world,  when  it  is  so  necessary  that 
some  one  should  plead  for  religion  with  us  ?  How  can 
we  expect  to  reclaim  the  world  to  Christ,  when  large 
tracts  of  our  own  character  are  unreclaimed ;  when  the 
most  fruitful  and  cherished  tracts  within  us  are  pagan 
tracts,  where  the  objects  and  idols  of  sense  are  wor- 
shipped ? — Mahometan  tracts,  where  self-indulgence 
reigns  ? — a  moral  waste  ?  Unless  all  the  rules  of  fit- 
ness between  means  and  ends  are  to  be  dispensed  with, 
how  can  we  expect  the  world  to  believe  that  it  is  perish- 
ing, until  they  behold  us  in  anguish  for  their  rescue  ? 
The  world  is  selfish  ;  how  can  we  hope  to  reclaim  it  if 
we  ourselves  are  not  models  of  disinterestedness  ?  "  If 
you  Christians  have  known  all  these  things,"  says  the 
pagan,  "  and  really  believed  that  we  ignorant  heathen 
must  perish  unless  we  believe  in  your  Jesus  Christ ; 
how  could  you  leave  so  great  a  part  of  the  world,  for 
so  many  generations,  to  go  down  to  perdition,  without 
coming  sooner  to  tell  us  of  this  only  way  in  which 
32 


374  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

we  can  be  saved  ?" — What  can  the  Missionary  say  ? 
This  is  not  idle  fancy  ;  it  is  matter  of  distressing  fact.* 
When  a  great  experiment  is  to  be  made  in  natural 
philosophy,  the  preparation  of  the  apparatus  to  be 
employed,  will  often  occupy  a  longer  time  than  the 
experiment  itself.  The  uninitiated  spectator  is  sur- 
prised at  the  patient  and  laborious  anxiety  evinced  by 
the  experimenter  to  bring  his  instruments  into  a  state 
of  working  perfection.  But  well  he  knows  from  many 
a  previous  failure,  that  the  presence  of  a  single  particle 
of  matter  foreign  to  the  experiment,  is  often  sufficient 
to  vitiate  the  whole  process.  Christ  proposes  the  great 
moral  process  of  drawing  the  world  to  himself;  the 
Christian  Church  is  the  apparatus  to  be  employed  ; 
and  worldly  selfishness  or  sin  the  object  to  be  operated 
on.  Do  we  not  see  the  vital  importance  that  not  a 
particle  of  the  thing  to  be  destroyed  should  adhere  to 
the  instrument  employed  to  destroy  it  ?  Do  we  not 
see  the  nature  of  the  fitness  we  need — perfect  contrast 
to  the  world  ?  And  that  this  fitness  is  indispensable  to 
success  ?  Oh,  for  such  an  instrumentality  !  We  ask 
not  that  it  should  consist  at  first  of  many  Christians — 
their  success  would  not  depend  on  their  number — but 
of  men  penetrated,  possessed,  with  the  conviction  that 
Christian  consistency  and  entire  devotedness  to  the 
world's  recovery,  are  one  and  the  same  thing  ;  that 
without  such  intense  devotedness  to  that  one  object 
nothing  morally  great  has  ever  been  achieved  ;  men  who 
feel  that  they  are  not  their  own  as  intensely  if  their  per- 
sons were  marked  and  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of 
Christ  ;  and  who,  in  the  spirit  of  that  self-consecration 
should  resolve  that,  by  God's  help,  the  world  should 
feel  their  influence  before  they  die.  Oh,  for  such  an 
instrumentality  !  The  Church  should  be  converted,  and 
the  world  too  ! 

1 .  Now  if  eminent  Christian  devotedness  constitute  the 


*  The  Claims  of  600,000,000  of  Heathen ;  by  Hall  and  Newell, 
American  Missionaries  at  Bombay,  p.  77. 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  375 

great  want  of  the  Church  in  its  Missionary  relation,  deep 
humility  must  be  regarded  as  our  first  requisite,  both  on 
account  of  that  essential  deficiency,  as  well  as  to  prepare 
us  for  greater  improvement  and  success  in  the  future. 
Had  we  "  done  all  those  things  which  are  commanded" 
us,  it  would  still  have  been  our  place  to  come  into  our 
Master's  presence,  saying,  "  "We  are  unprofitable  ser- 
vants ;  we  have  done  that  which  was  our  duty  to  do." 
Where  then  is  the  depth  of  abasement  equal  to  the 
necessities  of  the  case,  now  that  we  have  almost  entirely 
neglected  that  duty  ?  And  yet  where  are  the  tears  of 
the  Church  on  account  of  that  neglect  ?  How  much 
easier  it  is  to  find  the  signs  of  self-gratulation  on  ac- 
count of  the  little  which  we  have  done,  than  of  self-con- 
demnation on  account  of  the  much  we  have  left  undone  ? 
Where  are  the  broken-hearted  confessions  which  should 
ensue  on  a  thoughtful  calculation  of  the  souls  which 
have  probably  perished,  and  the  revenue  of  glory  conse- 
quently lost  to  the  name  of  God,  through  our  want  of 
fidelity  to  our  trust  ?  Where  is  the  disposition  which 
might  be  looked  for,  to  ascertain  our  guilty  omissions, 
and  most  crying  wants,  and  to  take  them  into  the  pre- 
sence of  God  and  cast  ourselves  at  his  feet  in  order  to 
our  forgiveness  and  improvement  ? 

And  yet  until  these  questions  can  be  answered 
satisfactorily,  we  have  no  ground  to  expect  the  growing 
success  we  profess  to  desire.  The  law  of  the  Divine 
economy  on  this  sucject  is,  ''He  that  humbleth  him- 
self shall  be  exalted,  and  he  that  exalteth  himself 
shall  be  humbled."  God  will  not  trust  those  with  suc- 
cess, who  are  likely  to  appropriate  the  glory  to  them- 
selves. One  of  the  principles  by  which  he  regulates 
this  part  of  his  conduct  is,  to  proportion  the  useful- 
ness and  prosperity  of  his  people  according  as  they 
are  able  to  bear  it.  The  measure  of  our  present  suc- 
cess, then,  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  measure  of  our 
present  humility ;  so  that  if  we  would  not  stop  at  the 
point  of  usefulness  to  which  we  have  attained,  nor  be 
prepared  for  a  higher  degree  by  a  course  of  painful 


376  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

providential  discipline,  we  must  humble  ourselves  under 
the  mighty  hand  of  God.  Eminent  devotedness  to 
God  will  recognize  and  rejoice  in  this  as  a  primary 
duty,  while  the  sincere  performance  of  the  duty  cannot 
fail  to  promote  eminent  devotedness  to  God. 

2.  The  next  requisite  for  the  Church  in  its  Mis- 
sionary capacity  which  we  venture  to  specify  is,  the 
due  appreciation  of  the  spiritual  nature  of  the  work  in 
which  ive  are  engaged.  Independently  of  the  danger 
on  this  subject  to  which  we  are  naturally  and  always 
hable,  the  present  day  has  dangers  peculiar  to  itself. 
Our  claims  as  the  benefactors  of  mankind,  are  not,  as 
formerly,  passed  by  in  contempt,  or  summarily  dis- 
missed hy  the  world  as  mischievous  or  chimerical ; 
but  hence  the  danger  of  lowering  our  tone  as  the 
servants  of  the  Most  High  God,  and  of  aiming  to 
make  out  a  case  for  Its  commendation  which  will  com- 
promise our  character  for  fidelity  to  him.  Our  claims 
are  not  only  canvassed  by  the  world  generally,  but 
partially  patronized  by  the  great ;  but  let  us  remember 
that  If  they  have  not  the  mind  of  Christ,  that  which 
constitutes  the  true  distinction  and  glory  of  our  object 
is  " far  above  out  of  their  sight,"  and  that  what  they 
admire  in  it  are  merely  its  outward  accidents  and 
adjuncts.  Nor  do  we  now  occupy  the  field  of  bene- 
volent activity  alone ;  a  philanthropic  philosophy  pro- 
fesses to  join  us,  to  aim  at  the  same  end  with  our- 
selves, and  to  be  emulous  of  excelling  us  In  benefiting 
mankind ;  but  let  us  remember  that  our  proper  work 
is  unique,  and  that  we  cannot  contest  with  a  worldly 
philanthropy  without  coming  down  from  our  high  vo- 
cation, and  forgetting  that  our  great  aim  is,  not  the 
temporal,  civil,  or  social  improvement  of  mankind,  but 
their  spiritual  recovery  to  God. 

But  In  order  to  this,  we  must  sympathize  with  God. 
This  is  our  only  security.  And  yet  how  few  com- 
paratively do  this.  How  much  more  frequently  do 
we  act  from  the  lowest  allowable,  rather  than  from  the 
highest  possible  views  of  Christian  duly.     How  content 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  377 

are  we  with  mere  occasional  glimpses  of  the  loftier 
order  of  Christian  motives ;  as  if  it  were  quite  sufficient 
to  satisfy  us  if  we  can  thus  assure  ourselves  now  and 
then  of  their  existence.  How  seldom  do  we  stand 
and  gaze  on  our  enterprise  in  the  only  light  in  which 
it  is  viewed  from  heaven;  as  having  been  revolved 
from  eternity  in  the  mind  of  God  ;  as  asking  the  uni- 
verse for  a  theatre  ;  involving  the  endless  well-being 
of  a  race  of  immortals ;  requiring  the  Prince  of  Life 
for  a  sacrifice ;  and  all  spiritual  natures,  even  the 
Infinite  Spirit  himself,  as  its  only  adequate  agency  ; 
and  the  coming  eternity  for  the  full  development  of 
its  issues !  How  little  do  we  sympathize  with  God 
on  that  particular  point  on  which,  if  on  no  other, 
tlie  strongest  bond  of  union  might  be  supposed  to 
exist ;  compassion  for  depraved,  guilty,  suffering  souls. 
Who  is  there  that  makes  the  burden  of  a  dying  world 
his  own  .^  that  goes  about  with  "great  heaviness  and 
continual  sorrow  of  heart,"  oppressed  and  borne  down 
by  the  weight  of  its  woes  ?  Jesus  wept  over  the  guilt 
and  obduracy  of  Jerusalem :  who  is  there  prepared 
to  mingle  their  tears  with  his  over  the  guilt  and  im- 
pending destruction  of  a  thousand  cities  wholly  given 
to  idolatry  ?  Enoch  and  Noah,  Abraham  and  Moses, 
David,  and  Jeremiah,  and  Paul,  evinced  the  tenderness 
and  depth  of  their  compassion  for  men  by  tears,  en- 
treaties, and  unappeasable  anguish  of  soul:  who  is 
there  now  that  can  say,  "  Rivers  of  waters  run  down 
mine  eyes,  because  they  keep  not  thy  law  ?"  Who 
now  is  heard  exclaiming,  "  Oh  that  my  head  were 
waters,  and  mine  eyes  a  fountain  of  tears,  that  I  might 
weep  day  and  night  for  the  slain  of  the  daughter  of  my 
people  ?"  Who  now  asseverates,  "  I  could  wish  myself 
accursed  from  Christ  for  my  brethren  ?" 

And  yet  until  we  approach  this  state  of  sympathy 
with  God  on  the  spiritual  and  lofty  character  of  Christian 
Missions,  are  we  likely  to  be  eminently  devoted  to 
their  prosecution  ?  Will  not  comparatively  trifling  acts 
of  service  too  readily  satisfy  our  feeble  sense  of  duty  ? 
32* 


378  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

But  what  could  appease  the  anxiety  of  hira  who  was 
accustomed  to  stand  in  the  counsels  of  God,  and  daily 
to  look  around  on  mankind  from  the  moral  elevation 
of  the  Cross,  or  to  view  them  in  the  light  of  the  judg- 
ment fires — what  but  his  total  consecration  to  ihe  work 
of  their  rescue  ?  Were  this  state  of  mind  to  become 
general  in  the  Church,  one  of  its  first  effects  would  be 
that  we  should  think  much  more  highly  and  honourably 
than  we  now  do  of  the  Missionary  character  and  ofiice. 
Let  a  ship  be  perishing  within  sight  of  an  assembled 
multitude  on  the  shore,  and  let  some  of  these  volunteer 
an  attempt  to  save  the  sinking  crew ;  with  what  strained 
and  earnest  looks  are  they  followed  by  those  who  have 
sent  and  cheered  them  off,  and  how  deep  and  panting 
the  desires  for  their  success  ?  The  Missionaries  of 
the  Cross,  in  the  case  supposed,  would  carry  with  them 
the  sympathies  of  the  Church.  Their  ofiice  would  be 
regarded  as  the  highest  and  holiest  out  of  heaven. 
Selecting  them,  as  we  should,  within  the  view  and 
hearing  of  the  perishing  millions,  how  careful  should 
we  be,  as  far  as  it  depended  on  us,  that  none  but  the 
most  compassionate  and  devoted  men  went  forth.  The 
Saul  and  the  Barnabas  of  each  Christian  Society  would 
be  deemed  the  most  eligible  to  the  office.  And  having 
despatched  them,  what  holy  anxieties  would  follow 
them  ;  and  what  earnest  intercessions  would  ascend  for 
their  success  at  the  footstool  of  grace  !  Hitherto,  the 
Christian  Missionary  may  be  said  to  have  raised  in- 
strumentally  the  character  of  the  Church ;  but  never 
till  the  Church,  eminent  in  its  devotedness,  imparts  its 
character  to  the  Missionary,  will  the  sympathy  between 
them  be  complete  ;  and  in  order  to  this,  we  must 
appreciate  more  highly  the  spiritual  nature  of  the  work 
in  which  we  are  engaged. 

3.  It  must  be  obvious  that  whatever  else  may  be 
necessary,  a  vivid  and  all-pervading  apprehension  of 
the  Missionary  constitution  of  the  Christian  Churchy 
and  of  the  corresponding  obligations  of  each  of  its 
members,  is  of  the  first  importance.     ''  But  do  not  the 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  379 

various  aggressive  efforts  recorded  in  the  preceding 
pages  show  that  we  have  ah-eady  recovered  that  appre- 
hension ?"  To  a  very  hmited  extent.  Until  recently, 
the  Christian  Church  was  well  nigh  as  local  and  sta- 
tionary as  the  Jewish.  And  is  not  the  clear  apprehen- 
sion of  its  Missionary  design  still  confined  to  a  small 
minority  ?  Or,  if  felt  by  the  many,  felt  only  as  a 
passing  impulse,  the  result  of  an  annual  appeal,  rather 
than  as  a  personal  obligation  and  a  universal  principle  ? 
Or,  if  felt  as  a  claim,  felt  as  one  which  may  be  easily 
devolved,  and  discharged  by  proxy  ? 

Now  the  constitution  of  the  Christian  Church  sup- 
poses that  every  individual  member  is  prepared  to  take 
his  post  as  an  agent  for  Christ.  It  does  not  allow 
the  indolent  to  fold  his  arms,  and  transfer  his  duty 
to  another.  It  does  not  permit  the  fashionable  pro- 
fessor to  wait  till  Christian  labour  becomes  genteel. 
It  does  not  permit  the  wealthy  to  buy  off  his  personal 
services  by  the  bribe  of  large  donations.  It  requires 
both,  his  activity  and  his  donations  too.  Whether  it 
contains  a  man  for  every  post  or  not,  it  is  certain  that 
it  contains  a  post  for  every  man ;  and  hence  the  first 
inquiry  which  some  Christian  communities  make  of  a 
newly  admitted  member  is,  '•'■  What  shall  your  post  be  ?" 

Were  the  writer  to  be  asked  to  what  it  was  owing, 
chiefly,  that  the  early  triumphs  of  the  Gospel  were 
arrested — how  it  was  that  Christian  usefulness  died  out 
of  the  world,  and  piety  out  of  the  Church — he  would 
suggest  that  it  was  to  be  ascribed  principally  to  that 
master-device  of  Satan  by  which  the  Christian  professor 
was  led  to  suppose  that  he  could  do  every  thing  by 
proxy  ;  that  there  was  an  order  of  men  on  whom,  for 
a  certain  consideration,  he  could  devolve  his  duties  both 
to  God  and  to  man.  Now  this  we  hardly  need  remind 
the  reader  is  substantial  Popery.  The  very  essence  of 
that  system  consists  in  undertaking  to  exempt  its  votaries 
from  their  personal  responsibility — in  finding  a  price 
for  every  duty,  and  a  discharge  from  every  claim  of 
personal  accountableness.     We  pride  ourselves,  indeed, 


380  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHUECH 

in  our  Protestantism ;  but  if  this  representation  of 
Popery  be  correct,  it  is  high  time  to  inquire  from 
how  much  of  that  enormous  system  we  have  been 
rescued.  For  just  as  much  of  it  as  still  cleaves  to  us,  by 
just  so  much  are  we  effectually  disabled  from  doing  the 
first  works,  and  emulating  the  first  days  of  the  Christian 
Church.  Now  judging  from  the  past  we  should  say, 
that  the  Reformation  rescued  us  from  only  one  half  of 
the  evil — from  that  part  which  blinded  men  to  a  sense 
of  their  personal  concern  in  the  affairs  of  their  own 
salvation.  But  while  the  Protestant  wonders  at  the 
infatuation  of  the  Papist  in  imagining  that  any  thing 
can  exempt  him  from  the  necessity  oi personal  diligence 
in  seeking  his  own  salvation,  are  not  we  the  objects  of 
equal  wonder  in  acting  so  generally  as  if  we  thought 
any  thing  could  exempt  us  from  the  duty  of  personal 
activity  in  seeking  the  salvation  of  others  ?  If  the  one 
is  essential  Popery,  equally  so,  in  spirit,  is  the  other 
also.  Glorious,  therefore,  as  the  Reformation  was  for 
the  Churchy  in  rescuing  its  members  from  the  grasp  of 
a  spiritual  despotism,  and  making  each  one  feel  the 
necessity  of  personal  faith  and  personal  holiness,  as 
glorious  will  that  Reformation  be  for  the  world  which 
shall  complete  the  work  of  deliverance,  by  rescuing 
them  also  from  the  grasp  of  selfishness,  and  making  each 
one  feel  his  accountability  to  God  for  personal  activity 
in  the  work  of  human  salvation. 

But  in  order  to  this,  the  doctrine  of  individual  Chris- 
tian obligation  must  be  clearly  understood,  and  gene- 
rally feh.  Until  the  Christian  sees  that  it  is  not 
rhetorically  but  most  strictly  true,  that  he  is  not  his 
oicUy  he  will  be  often  acting  as  if  his  own  will  were  his 
only  law.  Even  when  he  sees  theoretically  that  he  is 
the  property  of  God,  unless  he  remember,  at  the  same 
time,  the  subduing  nature  of  that  price  by  which  he 
has  been  bought,  he  will  often  act  from  a  stern  sense 
of  duty  instead  of  feeling  constrained  by  the  power  of 
love ;  and  will  be  tempted  to  reduce  the  amount  of 
his   service   as  much  as    he   can,    without   refusing   it 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  381 

entirely,  instead  of  presenting  himself  a  living  sacrifice 
unto  God. 

But  even  in  addition  to  this,  it  is  necessary  that  he 
should  feel  that  he  is  redeemed  for  a  specific  end  ;  an 
end  which  leaves  no  moment  of  his  time  unclaimed,  and 
no  property  of  his  nature  untaxed.  Never  till  every 
Christian  feels  himself  as  much  ordained  to  diffuse  the 
Gospel  as  the  minister  is  ordained  to  preach  it ;  never 
till  every  Church  regards  itself  as  a  society  organized 
expressly  for  that  diffusion,  will  its  members  be  aware 
of  its  vast  capabilities,  in  the  hand  of  God,  for  blessing 
the  world  !  What  but  this  feeling  in  the  hearts  of  a 
few  has  originated  all  the  Christian  instrumentality, 
which  at  this  moment  is  at  work  ?  And  if  a  sense  of 
responsibility  for  personal  activity  in  only  a  few  instances 
has  led  to  so  much,  what  might  we  not  hope,  under  God, 
from  the  individual  and  united  activity  of  the  universal 
Church  ! 

4.  In  order  to  maintain  and  enlarge  our  sense  of 
Christian  obligation,  Missionary  informatiQn  should  be 
more  widely  circulated^  and  more  seriously  i^ondered. 
What  Christian  could  be  insensible  either  to  his  own 
obligations,  or  to  the  crying  wants  of  the  heathen,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  pit  of  perdition  ?  Now  the  direct  ten- 
dency of  all  the  Missionary  accounts  of  heathenism, 
when  rightly  considered,  is  to  make  us  feel  that  around 
that  gulf  the  idolatrous  world  is  assembled,  and  that, 
but  for  the  interposing  grace  of  Christ,  there  should  we 
have  been  mingled  with  them.  We  have  admitted, ~ 
indeed,  in  a  previous  page,  that  information  from  the 
Missionary  field  is  periodically  and  increasingly  diffused, 
and  that  a  Missionary  literature  for  the  rising  race  is  in 
the  course  of  rapid  formation  ;  nor  can  we  fail  to  regard 
this  as  tending  to  the  end  at  which  we  now  aim.  Our^ 
great  concern  is,  that  Christians  generally  would  lay  the 
moral  statistics  of  the  heathen  world  to  heart ;  that  they 
would  not  merely  read  a  page  or  an  anecdote  now  and 
then,  but  would  regularly  peruse  a  portion  of  the 
accounts   transmitted   as   if  indorsed   by   the  hand  of 


382  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHUECH 

Providence  for  them,  to  be  taken  into  the  closet  and 
read  at  the  throne  of  grace.  Mere  cursory  reading 
can  only  produce  evanescent  impressions.  And  hence, 
let  the  members  of  any  Christian  congregation,  even 
of  one  assembled  on  a  Missionary  occasion,  be  taken 
and  examined  on  the  subject  of  Christian  Missions — 
how  small  the  number  of  those  who  could  render  an 
account  of  even  the  more  recent  and  familiar  facts  in 
its  history ;  and  how  much  smaller  the  number  of  those 
who  have  so  far  made  it  a  study  as  to  have  a  single 
question  to  ask  concerning  it,  or  a  single  suggestion 
to  offer  for  its  improvement ! 

And  why  is  it  thus  ?  And  how  long  shall  it  remain  ? 
Till  we  not  merely  listen  to  an  occasional  appeal  on  the 
subject,  but  take  it  in  all  its  appalling  magnitude  into 
our  stated  and  devout  consideration  before  God.  Till 
we  read  the  history  and  geography  of  the  heathen 
nations  with  a  view  to  it,  and  study  it  in  maps.  Till  we 
make  it  a  standing  topic  of  Christian  conversation  ;  and, 
like  the  primitive  saints,  repair  to  the  Missionary  as- 
sembly with  minds,  not  requiring  additional  excitement, 
but  already  filled  with  intense  interest.  Till  we  have 
laid  the  state  of  the  heathen  world  upon  our  naked 
hearts,  and  vividly  pictured  its  miseries  to  the  eye  of 
our  mind,  as  an  object  at  which  habitually  to  gaze. 
Would  the  Almighty  affect  his  prophet  with  the 
spiritual  death  of  the  Jewish  nation  ?  He  called  him 
to  look  on  a  valley  full  of  dry  bones.  Was  the  spirit 
of  the  apostle  when  at  Athens,  stirred  within  him  ?  it 
was  when  he  saw  the  city  wholly  given  to  idolatry. 
Did  Jesus  weep  over  Jerusalen  ?  it  was  when  he  drew 
near  and  beheld  the  city.  And  if  we  would  be  duly 
impressed  with  the  spiritual  destitution  of  mankind, 
and  with  the  consequent  urgency  of  Missionary  claims, 
we  must  look,  and  gaze,  and  dwell,  on  the  subject.  By 
a  well  known  law  of  our  nature,  our  eye  will  soon  affect 
our  heart ;  and,  by  a  gracious  law  of  the  Divine  econo- 
my, that  compassionate  emotion  will  be  turned  into 
practical  ejffort  and  Missionary  success. 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  383 

5.  The  preceding  considerations  suggest  the  existence 
of  another  want — a  greater  depth  of  personal  piety. 
Fears  are  entertained  by  many  Christians  lest  rehgion 
in  the  present  day  should  be  made  to  consist  more  in 
imparting  than  in  receiving.  While  they  would  not 
have  it  less  abroad  for  useful  purposes,  they  question 
whether  it  is  not  too  little  at  home.  They  are  appre- 
hensive lest  our  spiritual  expenditure  should  be  exceed- 
ing our  spiritual  receipts.  The  ground  of  these  fears 
may  be  right  or  wrong.  If  they  arise  from  the  idea  that 
Christian  activity  and  the  growth  of  personal  piety  are 
naturally  incompatible,  so  that  attention  to  the  one 
necessarily  involves  the  proportionate  neglect  of  the 
other,  they  are  utterly  unwarranted.  For  not  only  were 
the  most  active  servants  of  God,  as  described  in  Scrip- 
ture, the  most  eminent  for  spirituality  and  devotion,  but 
their  very  activity  formed  a  part  of  the  means  by 
which  their  spirituality  was  sustained.  If,  however, 
those  fears  arise  from  the  well  known  tendency  of 
our  nature  to  substitute  a  morality  however  ascetic, 
a  ritual  however  irksome,  or  a  philanthropy  however 
costly,  in  the  stead  of  personal  piety,  and  to  mistake  it 
for  piety,  they  are  not  unfounded.  But  whatever  the 
grounds  of  fear,  it  cannot  be  denied,  and  need  not  be  con- 
cealed, that  the  danger  apprehended  exists — the  danger 
of  religion  losing  in  depth  what  it  gains  in  surface. 

Nor  do  we  fear  lest,  in  saying  this,  we  should  damp 
the  Missionary  zeal  of  the  Church.  On  the  contrary, 
our  aim  is  to  render  that  zeal  more  scriptural  and  effect- 
ive ;  for  as  long  as  it  remains  a  principle  of  Divine 
appointment  that  personal  piety  is  the  proper  foundation 
of  relative  usefulness,  he  who  assists  in  raising  the 
Church  nearer  to  God,  is  enabling  it  to  act  more  bene- 
ficially upon  the  world.  Hence  the  wisdom  of  the 
inspired  Psalmist  in  praying  for  the  prosperity  of  the 
Church  as  preparatory  to  the  conversion  of  the  world  : 
"God  be  merciful  unto  us,  and  bless  us  ;  and  cause  his 
face  to  shine  upon  us :  that  thy  way  may  be  known 
upon  earth,  thy  saving  health  among  all  nations.''     It  is 


384  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHUKCH 

observable  that  while  the  calling  of  the  apostles  is 
placed,  by  one  evangelist,  in  immediate  connexion  with 
the  command  that  we  pray  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  for 
an  increase  of  labourers  ;*  it  is  described  by  another  as 
immediately  following  a  whole  night  spent  by  our  blessed 
Lord  in  prayer  to  God  ;f  thus  the  foundation  of  Mission- 
ary activity  was  laid  in  the  very  element  of  prayer.  It 
was  when  the  apostles  had  been  day  after  day  "  with  one 
accord  in  one  place"  calling  upon  God,  that  they  came 
forth  to  enjoy  pentecostal  successes,  and  to  reap  the  field 
of  the  world.  x\nd  as  long  as  it  is  true  that  spiritual 
influences,  like  the  water,  which  is  their  material  em- 
blem, cannot  rise  above  their  own  level,  the  higher  their 
source,  the  wider  will  be  their  diffusion  through  the 
various  channels  of  Christian  activity.  While  this  ac- 
tivity, by  the  occasions  with  which  it  will  be  constantly 
furnishing  us  for  renewed  application  to  God,  will  be 
the  means  of  keeping  us  in  habitual  communication  with 
the  Fountain  of  spiritual  life  ;  so  that  by  action  and  reac- 
tion our  piety  will  give  activity  to  our  benevolence,  and 
our  benevolence  invigorate  our  piety. 

6.  Were  the  preceding  requisites  supplied,  one  of  the 
first  effects  apparent  would  he  an  increase  of  holy  wisdom 
— wisdom  to  mark  the  characteristic  features  of  the  age 
and  the  movements  of  the  world,  to  appreciate  the  pecu- 
liar position  of  the  Church  in  relation  to  them,  and  to 
apprehend  and  obey  the  indications  of  God  concerning 
them.  The  Saviour  may  be  regarded  as  saying  to 
his  people  ;  but  especially  to  his  ministers,  in  every 
age,  ''  Can  ye  not  discern  the  signs  of  the  times  V 
Each  period  is  preceded  and  attended  with  its  own 
peculiar  signs,  and  it  is  a  part  of  their  duty  to  mark 
them, — that  to  the  inquiry  of  the  Church,  ^'  Watchman, 
what  of  the  night  .^"  they  might  be  able  to  return  the 
correct  and  seasonable  reply.  Never  was  there  an  age 
when  the  wide  field  of  human  misery  was  so  fully  ex- 
plored, and  so  accurately  measured,  as  at  present ;  and 

*  Matthew  ix.  38;  x.  1.  f  Luke  vi.  12,  13. 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  385 

consequently  there  never  was  a  time  when  the  obhga- 
tion  of  the  Christian  Church  to  bring  out  all  its  Divine 
resources  and  remedies,  was  so  pressing,  and  so  great ; 
hence  the  importance  that  its  ministers  should  be  pre- 
pared to  bring  forth  the  strong  reasons  of  the  Gospel 
for  entire  self-consecration.  Never  was  there  an  age 
when  science  attempted  so  much  and  promised  so  largely 
— challenging  the  Gospel,  in  effect,  to  run  with  it  a  race 
of  philanthropy  ;  and,  consequently,  never  was  there  a 
time  when  it  so  much  concerned  the  Church  to  vindicate 
her  character  as  the  true  angel  of  mercy  to  the  world  ; 
and  to  do  this,  not  by  decrying  the  human  expedients 
which  unenlightened  man  employs,  but  by  surpassing 
them  in  the  strenuous  application  of  God's  remedy. 
Never  was  there  a  time  when  the  elements  of  universal 
society  exhibited  so  much  restlessness  and  change, 
and  when  the  field  of  the  world  was  so  extensively 
broken  up  and  ready  for  cultivation  ;  and,  consequently, 
never  was  there  a  time  which  so  loudly  called  on  the 
Christian  sower  to  go  forth  and  sow  ;  but  as  long  as  the 
labourers  are  comparatively  few,  a  wise  selection  of  the 
spheres  to  be  occupied  is  of  the  first  importance.  And 
if  there  never  was  a  time  since  the  days  of  the  apostles 
when  the  various  sections  of  the  Church  were  so  aggres- 
sive in  their  movements,  the  obligation  is  proportionate 
on  each  community  to  mark  the  operation  of  the  others, 
not  to  envy,  but  to  learn  from  their  experience,  and  to 
emulate  their  excellence. 

To  a  mind  alive  to  the  erection  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  in  the  earth,  numerous  questions  of  surpassing 
interest  are  always  present.  Some  of  those  which  en- 
gaged the  attention  of  the  fathers  of  modern  Missions, 
the  events  of  providence  have  already  answered  and  set 
at  rest.  Of  those  deserving  consideration  at  present,  we 
might  specify  such  as  these — whether  or  not  the  claims 
of  the  ancient  people  of  God  are  engaging  a  sufficient 
measure  of  Christian  attention  ?  Whether,  considering 
the  geographical  position  of  Russia,  stretching  across 
the  whole  northern  continent  of  Asia,  from  the  banks  of 
33 


386  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

the  Vistula  to  the  shores  of  America,  as  the  dominion 
of  Britain  stretches  across  the  south,  and  thus  having 
between  it  and  us  five-sixths  of  the  heathen  world — 
something  should  not  be  attempted  towards  purifying  its 
Church,  and  rendering  it  a  Missionary  co-worker  with 
ourselves  for  their  salvation  ?  What  the  design  of  God 
may  be  in  the  remarkable  distribution  of  Christian 
communities — old  and  corrupt  though  they  be — all  over 
the  Mahometan  empire  ?  Whether,  without  diminishing 
our  endeavours  for  heathendom,  more  ought  not  to  be 
done  for  Christendom  ?  W^hat  are  the  comparative 
claims  of  education  and  preaching  in  our  Missionary 
operations  ?  whether  sufficient  importance  is  yet  at- 
tached to  the  preparation  of  a  native  agency  in  the 
various  parts  of  the  Missionary  field  ?  and  whether  the 
time  has  not  come  when  the  standard  of  education  for 
our  Missionaries  might  be  advantageously  raised,  espe- 
cially in  the  department  of  science  ?  These  are  only 
a  few  of  a  great  number  of  topics  of  growing  interest ; 
most  of  which  are  likely,  at  no  distant  time,  to  force 
themselves  on  our  attention  in  a  manner  for  which 
present  consideration,  and  devout  inquiry  of  God,  can 
alone  prepare  us. 

But  if  there  never  was  a  time  when  the  great  Mis- 
sionary subject  teemed  with  more  interesting  inquiries, 
it  is  equally  true,  that  never  was  there  a  land  blessed 
with  such  peculiar  facilities,  as  Britain,  for  answering 
those  inquiries  and  for  obeying  the  calls  of  Providence, 
to  give  the  gospel  to  the  world.  Why  is  it  that  the 
Gospel  is  at  this  time  in  trust  with  a  people  whose 
ships  cover  the  seas — who  are  the  merchants  of  the 
world  ?  Has  he  who  drew  the  boundaries  of  Judea 
with  his  own  finger,  who  selected  the  precise  spot  for 
the  temple,  who  did  every  thing  for  the  Jewish  Church 
toith  design^  abandoned  the  Christian  Church  to  acci- 
dent .''  And  if  not, — if  he  has  placed  the  Gospel  among 
us  with  design,  what  can  the  nature  of  that  design  be, 
but  that  it  should  be  borne  to  the  world  on  the  wings 
of  every  wind  that  blows  ?     Let  us  ask  ourselves  why 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  387 

it  is  that  Britain  and  her  religious  ally,  America,  should 
divide  the  seas,  and  thus  hold  the  keys  of  the  world  ? 
Were  we  but  awake  to  the  designs  of  God,  and  to 
our  own  responsibility,  we  should  hear  him  say,  "  I  have 
put  you  in  possession  of  the  seas  ;  put  the  world  in  pos- 
session of  my  Gospel."  And  every  ship  we  sent  out 
would  be  a  Missionary  Church — like  the  ark  of  the 
deluge,  a  floating  temple  of  God — bearing  in  its  bosom 
the  seeds  of  a  new  creation.  Ours  is  indeed  a  post  of 
responsibihty  and  of  honour  !  On  us  have  accumulated 
all  the  advantages  of  the  past,  and  on  us  lies  the  great 
stress  of  the  present.  The  world  is  waiting  breathless 
on  our  movements  ;  and  every  sign  of  Providence  finds 
a  voice  to  urge  us  on. 

And  in  saying  that  a  Missionary  Church  to  be  effec- 
tive should  be  thus  wise  to  mark  and  quick  to  avail  itself 
of  every  providential  indication,  what  are  we  saying, 
after  all,  but  that  God  is  conducting  the  affairs  of  the 
universe  on  a  plan  ;  that  in  every  age  that  plan  advan- 
ces ;  that  his  people  are  to  mark  the  signs  of  that 
advance  and  to  fall  in  with  it ;  and  that  in  proportion 
as  they  adjust  their  movements  to  his,  link  themselves  on 
to  his  plans,  and  keep  pace  with  his  progress,  they  move 
with  the  force  of  Omnipotence  simply  by  moving  in  a 
line  and  in  harmony  with  it.  Oh,  for  celestial  wisdom 
to  place  ourselves  in  harmony  with  Providence,  and  to 
seize  the  crisis  which  has  come  for  blessing  the  world  ! 

7.  One  of  the  first  wants  which  that  wisdom,  of  which 
we  have  been  speaking,  would  discover,  and  one  of  the 
first  steps  to  which  it  would  lead,  would  be  a  spirit  of 
greater  devotechiess  to  the  Missionary  work  among  minis- 
ters at  home.  If  a  considerable  number  of  those  who 
are  now  preparing  for  the  Christian  ministry,  and  of 
those  who  have  already  entered  the  sacred  office,  were 
to  devote  themselves,  as  one  man,  to  the  spiritual  rescue 
of  the  heathen,  who  can  calculate  the  impulse  which 
would  be  given  to  the  general  cause  of  religion  ?  What 
exalted  piety  would  it  evince ;  and  what  an  increase  of 
energy  and  devotion  would  it  tend  to  call  forth !     No 


388  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

fear  need  be  entertained  for  the  safety  of  the  work  at 
home  ;  the  spiritual  efficiency  of  those  who  would  find 
it  obligatory  to  remain  at  their  present  post  would  be 
increased  in  a  far  greater  ratio  than  the  numerical  reduc- 
tion of  their  ranks  ;  many  a  youth  now  devoted  to 
secular  pursuits  would  give  himself  up  to  the  service 
of  God  ;  and,  more  than  all,  the  act  would  discover  so 
high  a  degree  of  devotedness  to  God,  that  he  would  be 
able,  consistently  with  his  character,  to  say  in  acts  of 
unusual  blessing,  what  he  has  already  declared  in  words 
of  promise,  "  them  that  honour  me,  I  will  honour." 

There  is  reason  to  fear  that,  at  present,  the  number 
of  ministers  adequately  acquainted  with  the  Missionary 
aspect  of  the  Church,  and  interested  in  it,  is  compara- 
tively small  ;  that  the  subject  is  introduced  to  the  at- 
tention of  the  people  too  exclusively  at  stated  times, 
on  annual  occasions,  and  in  connexion  with  pecuniary 
collections  ;  and  too  seldom  as  forming  a  legitimate 
topic  of  ordinary  ministerial  discourse,  and  to  every 
part  of  which  the  heart  of  the  Church  should  be  sup- 
posed to  be  ever  ready  to  vibrate  and  respond.  And 
yet  to  this  advocacy,  partial  and  feeble  thoygh  it  be,  it 
is  owing,  under  God,  that  the  Missionary  enterprise 
has  risen  to  its  present  position  in  the  Church  ;  what, 
then,  might  we  not  hope  to  see  result  were  deeds 
added  to  words,  and  personal  devotement  to  argu- 
ments and  professions  !  Let  them  be  respectfully  re- 
minded that  besides  their  special  relation  to  their  respect- 
ive churches,  they  and  their  churches  sustain  a  universal 
relation  ;  that  the  Gospel  they  preach  embraces  all  in- 
terests ;  that  the  pulpit  they  occupy  stands,  in  a  sense, 
in  the  centre  of  the  universe  ;  that  there  are  lines  of 
relationship  connecting  it  with  every  object  and  event 
within  that  vast  circumference  ;  that  they  are  placed  in 
that  central  position  to  watch  and  report  to  iheir  people 
the  progress  of  events,  to  impress  on  them  the  dignity 
and  responsibility  of  their  character  as  the  agents  of 
"  Him  for  whom  are  all  things,  and  by  whom  are  all 
things;"    and   thus   to    induce   them   as   their   highest 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  389 

honour  and  happiness,  to  fall  in  with  that  vast  proces- 
sion, including  all  orders  and  all  worlds,  which  even 
now  is  moving  on  to  the  one  appointed  spot,  where  all 
the  diadems  of  the  universe  shall  be  laid  at  the  feet  of 
Him  on  whose  head  already  are  many  crowns.  "  This 
is  a  true  saying.  If  a  man  desire  the  office  of  a  bishop  he 
desireth  a  good  work;"  but  let  them  remember  that  he 
who  said  this,  regarded  a  participation  in  the  work  of 
Missions  as  a  higher  distinciion  still  :  "  Unto  me,  who 
am  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints,  is  this  grace  given, 
that  I  should  preach  among  the  Gentiles  the  unsearch- 
able riches  of  Christ."  Let  them  estimate  the  Mission- 
ary office  as  highly  as  he  did,  and  remember  how  much 
may  depend  on  their  adoption  of  it ;  much  in  the 
Church,  for  while  the  private  Christian  is  to  be  an 
example  to  the  world,  they  are  to  be  "  an  ensample  to 
the  flock" — a  model  among  models  ;  and  much  in  the 
world  ;  for  their  central  station  and  official  character 
invest  them  with  influence  which  render  their  every 
movement  an  object  of  interest  to  superior  beings,  and 
which,  in  reference  to  the  heathen  world,  may  impHcate 
the  everlasting  welfare  of  myriads.  Only  let  these  con- 
siderations be  devoutly  laid  to  heart,  and  many  a  minister 
who  now  supposes  himself  bound  to  remain  at  home 
would  be  heard  saying,  "  Here  am  I,  send  me  ;"  others, 
who  could  not  go  abroad,  would  become  Missionaries 
at  home  ;  while  the  Church  generally  would  find  her 
highest  interests  benefited,  as  much  as  by  any  event 
which  has  occurred  since  apostolic  days. 

8.  Another  requisite  is  Christian  union.  We  have 
already  intimated  that  it  is  very  much  owing  to  the  fra- 
ternal influence  shed  on  the  various  denominations  of 
Christians  by  Missionary  and  kindred  operations,  that 
even  a  vestige  of  visible  union  remains.  And  how  is  it 
that  on  particular  occasions  we  are  induced  to  quit  our 
denominational  camps,  and  to  proclaim  the  truce  of 
God  ?  By  paying  greater  deference  to  the  will  of  Christ 
than  to  the  claims  of  party  ;  by  looking  out  on  a  world 
perishing  ;  by  erecting  the  Cross  for  its  salvation,  and 
33* 


390  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

rallying  around  it ;  in  a  word,  by  reverting  practicalljr 
to  the  primary  design  of  the  Church.  Who  has  not 
been  ready  to  say  at  such  times,  Would  that  the  whole 
Church  could  be  converted  into  a  Christian  Missionary 
Society,  and  meet  in  that  capacity  alone  ! 

The  union  wanted  is  not  the  union  of  one  day  in  a 
year,  but  the  union  of  every  day  ;  not  the  hollow  friend- 
ship which  merely  forbears  to  misrepresent  or  to  injure 
those  who  "  follow  not  with  us,"  but  the  Christian  sym- 
pathy which  sincerely  mingles  alike  in  their  sorrows  and 
their  joys  ;  not  merely  a  oneness  of  purpose,  but,  as  far  as 
practicable,  a  union  of  means  for  the  attainment  of  that 
purpose.  One  Church  abounds  more,  it  may  be,  in  the 
zeal  which  burns  for  active  exertion  ;  another,  in  the 
wisdom  which  is  profitable  to  direct;  and  a  third,  in  the 
funds  which  are  necessary  to  support  the  holy  war. 
Here,  sympathy  with  each  other's  wants,  by  uniting 
their  respective  means,  would  happily  supply  them  all ; 
while  a  sjiirit  of  division  makes  that  which  is  already 
little,  still  less.  "  One  rule  of  action  there  is,"  says  a 
distinguished  American  Missionary — Abeel — "  which,  if 
observed  by  all  sects,  would  result  in  the  greatest  benefit 
to  the  Church  and  the  world.  It  involves  no  sacrifice 
of  party  interests,  and  it  is  the  only  plan  which,  while 
Christians  remain  in  distinct  communities,  does  not 
sacrifice  the  interests  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  to 
mere  sectarian  aggrandizement.  In  selecting  their 
spheres  of  action,  let  each  denomination  pass  by  the 
place  already  occupied,  and  fix  upon  those  where  their 
services  are  most  needed.  Let  it  be  a  mutual  under- 
standing that  if  education  or  predilection  dispose  the 
inhabitants  of  any  part  of  a  country  to  a  particular  sect, 
all  others  will  yield  the  ground.  What  endless  collision 
and  confusion  this  would  prevent !  what  desirable  con- 
sequences it  would  produce!  If  the  attention  of  Chris- 
tians could  only  be  diverted  from  each  other,  and  from 
the  places  already  occupied,  and  fixed  in  deep  compas- 
sion upon  the  destitute  parts  of  the  world,  how  soon 
their  dying  fellow  men  in  every  land  would  feel  the 
quickening  influence !" 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  391 

It  is  in  vain  to  plead  the  beneficial  rivalry  of  sects. 
This  only  shows  that  we  are  so  much  accustomed  to  our 
divisions,  that  we  can  see  beauty  in  that  which  forms 
our  deformity  and  disgrace.  But  let  us  see  the  natural 
fruits  of  past  divisions  in  the  fact  that  Mahometanism, 
Popery,  and  Irreligion,  still  divide  the  civilized  world 
between  them ;  that  reformed  Christianity  finds,  on 
numbering  her  followers,  that  she  still  stands  in  an  insig- 
nificant minority.  And  are  we  to  suppose  that  what  has 
hitherto  proved  the  curse  of  the  Church,  is  now  converted 
into  a  blessing  ?  A  spirit  of  disunion  is  still  dishonour- 
ing Christianity  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  By  confirm- 
ing the  irreligious  in  their  impiety,  disheartening  the 
sincere  inquirer  after  the  truth,  and  blinding  numbers 
with  the  idea  that  the  sectarian  spirit  is  true  piety,  it  is 
still  ruinous  to  the  souls  of  men  ;  by  dividing  our  limited 
instrumentality  at  home,  and  tending  to  counteract  our 
Christian  influence  abroad,  and,  incomparably  more  than 
all,  by  grieving  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  it  is  still  en- 
feebling and  endangering  our  Missionary  operations, 
and  delaying  the  conversion  of  the  world.  It  is  in  vain 
to  say  that  but  little  disagreement  exists  as  yet  among 
our  Christian  agents  abroad  ;  the  seeds  of  discord  only 
ask  for  time,  and  they  will  not  fail  to  bear  their  proper 
fruit.  It  is  in  vain  to  urge,  that  good  is  done  notwith- 
standing our  disunion,  the  partial  good  which  is  effected 
abroad,  is  effected  by  merging  the  disputes  at  home — 
in  fact,  by  uniting — or  by  pretending  to  a  degree  of 
fraternity  which  the  relative  state  of  parties  at  home  will 
not  justify.  And  would  not  a  knowledge  of  our  differ- 
ences there  be  to  a  great  extent  fatal  to  our  usefulness  ? 
Would  it  not  shake  the  confidence  of  the  religious 
noviciate  there ;  and  embroil  the  Churches,  and  cover 
the  breast  of  the  idolater  with  an  additional  coat  of 
resistance  to  the  arrows  of  the  Lord ;  and  arm  the 
Brahmin,  the  sceptic,  and  every  hostile  hand  with  a  new 
weapon  of  attack  ? 

On  the  other  hand,  how  greatly  would  the  mutual 
regard  and  sympathetic  co-operation  of  which  we  speak, 


392  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHUECH 

tend  to  increase  our  capacity  for  Missionary  usefulness ! 
By  promoting  our  own  piety  and  happiness ;  for,  having 
ceased  from  the  comparative  trifles  which  now  vex 
and  engross  us,  we  should  feel  more  than  ever  the  force 
of  high  and  ennobling  motives ;  breath,  now  wasted 
in  controversy,  would  be  turned  into  the  incense  of 
prayer;  and  the  only  spirit  invoked  in  the  Church 
would  be  the  Spirit  of  grace.  By  the  increase  of  sanc- 
tified agency  which  it  would  set  at  liberty  from  the 
present  imprisonment  of  controversy,  and  send  forth 
into  the  field  of  the  world.  By  a  wise  combination 
of  means,  so  that  resources  which,  divided,  are  not 
equal  to  the  religious  cultivation  of  a  district,  would, 
when  united,  be  equal  to  an  attempt  on  a  continent. 
By  affecting  the  public  mind,  and  preparing  the  world 
to  yield  to  the  claims  of  the  Son  of  God  ;  for  Christian 
union  is  not  merely  a  Scripture  doctrine  ;  its  practical 
and  visible  exhibition  is  evidently  intended,  according 
to  the  prayer  of  Christ,  to  be  the  grand  means  for  the 
conversion  of  the  world,  and  a  leading  design  of  the 
Christian  dispensation.  Such  a  Union,  therefore,  as 
that  of  which  we  speak,  would  humbly  challenge  his 
blessing,  for  it  would  be  a  substantial  fulfilment  of  his 
prayer.  And,  then,  how  directly  would  it  increase  the 
capacity  of  Christians  for  usefulness,  by  increasing  their 
capacity  for  the  reception  and  co-operations  of  that 
Holy  Spirit,  who  alone  can  crown  their  activity  with 
success. 

In  order  that  the  slain  in  the  valley  of  vision  might 
become  an  efficient  body,  it  was  necessar}^,  not  only 
that  life  should  enter  into  each  separately,  they  must 
fall  into  order  with  a  view  to  the  union  and  organization 
of  the  whole ;  and  then,  as  an  exceeding  great  army,  a 
skilful  commander  alone  was  wanting  to  lead  them  forth 
to  conquest.  The  leader  of  the  hosts  of  God  is  already 
v/aiting.  Let  them  be  not  only  compact  in  their  several 
sections,  but  let  those  sections  be  united  with  each 
other,  and  as  one  body  he  will  lead  them  forth,  "  terrible 
as  an  army  with  banners."     Nothing  shall  be  too  great 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  393 

for  them  to  attempt;  and  every  conflict  shall  be  a 
victory. 

9.  And  is  not  greater  pecuniary  liberality  wanted? 
To  assert,  indeed,  that  it  is  not  already  on  the  increase, 
would  only  evince  insensibility  to  the  obvious  facts  we 
ourselves  have  adduced,  and  ingratitude  to  the  great 
Head  of  the  Church.  But  while  the  increase  of  funds 
which  our  great  benevolent  institutions  have  almost 
annually  to  announce,  concurs,  with  other  circumstances, 
to  show  that  the  Church  is  not  only  dissatisfied  with  its 
past  parsimony,  but  is  gradually  awaking  to  the  claims 
of  Christian  liberality,  we  can  regard  them  as  little  more 
than  indications  of  improvement. 

Nearly  all  the  great  defects  in  the  charity  of  the 
Christian  Church  remain,  with  very  slight  modifications. 
It  still  waits  for  impulses  and  appeals.  It  wants  calcu- 
lation, proportion,  and  self-denial.  It  does  not  keep 
pace  with  the  growing  demands  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  It  wants  principle  and  plan.  The  great  cur- 
rent of  Christian  property  is  as  yet  undiverted  from  its 
worldly  channel.  Many  of  the  scanty  rills  of  charity 
which  at  present  water  the  garden  of  the  Lord,  are 
brought  and  kept  there  only  by  great  ingenuity  and 
effort.  Here  and  there  an  individual  is  to  be  found 
who  economises  his  resources  that  he  may  employ  them 
for  God  ;  but  the  very  admiration  in  which  such  an  one 
is  held  in  his  circle  implies  that  he  stands  there  alone. 
In  which  of  the  sections  of  the  Christian  Church  shall 
W'e  find  a  spirit  of  worldly  self-indulgence  to  be  only 
the  exception,  and  a  spirit  of  self-denying  benevolence 
the  rule  ?  How  small,  it  is  to  be  feared,  is  the  number 
of  those  who  really  and  practically  believe  that  "  it  is 
more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive  ;"  or  who  truly  act 
on  the  principle,  that  they  hold  their  property  in  trust 
for  God  !  And  hence,  is  it  not  the  fact  that  our  very 
success  in  the  cause  of  God  is,  in  an  important  sense, 
found  inconvenient  and  burdensome  ?  Do  we  not,  con- 
sequently, stand  disqualified  for  extensive  usefulness  ? 
Is  not  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  himself  placed 


394  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

under  a  moral  restraint  from  employing  and  blessing 
us  only  in  a  very  limited  degree  ?  A  covetous,  self- 
indulgent  community  !  how  can  he  consistently  employ 
such  to  convert  the  world ;  especially,  too,  as  that  con- 
version includes  a  turning  from  selfishness  ?  Not, 
indeed,  that  his  cause  is  necessarily  dependent  for  suc- 
cess on  our  liberality :  and  perhaps,  when  his  people 
shall  be  so  far  constrained  by  his  love,  as  to  place  their 
property  at  his  disposal,  he  may  most  convincingly  show 
them  that  he  has  never  been  dependent  on  it,  by  com- 
pleting his  kingdom  without  it.  But  while  he  chooses 
to  vvork  by  means,  those  means  must  be  in  harmony 
with  his  own  character,  and  with  the  character  of  the 
Christian  dispensation  ;  and  what  is  that  character,  but 
self-denying,  infinite  benevolence  ? 

It  is  recorded  to  the  high  honour  of  certain  anciejit 
r  believers,  that  "  God  was  not  ashamed  to  be  called  their 
L  God."  So  plainly  did  they  "  declare  that  they  sought 
\  a  better  country,  that  is  a  heavenly,"  and  so  entirely 
did  they  live  for  his  glory,  that  he  could  point  the 
attention  of  the  world  to  them  with  divine  complacency  ; 
he  could  entrust  his  character  in  their  hands  ;  he  could 
leave  the  world  to  infer  what  he  was,  from  what  they 
were  ;  he  was  content  to  be  judged  of  by  the  conduct 
of  his  people.  Could  he  leave  his  character  to  be 
inferred  from  the  conduct  of  his  people  now  ?  Is  there 
anything,  for  instance,  in  the  manner  and  extent  of 
their  liberality,  which  would  remind  the  world  of  his 
vast  unbounded  benevolence  }  They  know  the  grace 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  though  he  was  rich,  for 
our  sakes  he  became  poor,  that  they  through  his  poverty 
might  be  made  rich  ;  but  from  what  part  of  their 
conduct  would  the  world  ever  learn  this  melting  truth  ? 
No,  in  this  respect  he  is  ashamed  to  be  called  their 
God.  Their  self-indulgence  misrepresents  his  self-sacri- 
fice. Their  worldly  spirit  of  appropriation  is  a  shame 
to  his  boundless  beneficence.  His  character  is  falsi- 
fied by  them  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  Nor  could  he 
honour   them   in   any  distinguished  manner  before  the 


IN  RELATION  TO   MISSIONS.  395 

world,  without  indorsing  and  confirming  that  falsifica- 
tion of  his  character.  He  is  yearning  for  the  happiness 
of  the  perishing  world  ;  but  such,  at  present,  is  the 
nature  of  his  divine  arrangements,  that  he  has  only 
the  instrumentality  of  his  people  to  work  by,  and  that  is 
so  steeped  in  selfishness,  that  his  grace  may  be  said  to  be 
held  under  restraint. 

Now  the  liberality  wanted  is  that  which  originates 
in  Christian  principle.  As  long  as  it  is  subjected  to 
any  inferior  motives,  its  defects  will  be  numerous,  un- 
avoidable, fatal.  It  will  think  highly  of  its  smallest 
gifts  ;  will  be  unduly  influenced  by  the  conduct  of 
others  ;  will  wait  for  public  excitement  ;  and  will  ever 
be  in  danger  of  diminution,  and  even  of  total  cessation. 
Nothing  but  a  deep  and  abiding  conviction  of  our  vast, 
solemn,  subduing  obligations  to  God  in  Christ,  can  ever 
insure  that  cordial  and  entire  consecration  of  our  pro- 
perty, which  his  Divine  commands,  and  the  necessities 
of  his  cause,  imperatively  require.  By  taking  the 
Christian  to  the  Cross,  and  keeping  him  there  in  the 
presence  of  the  great  Sacrifice,  he  is  made  to  feel  that 
he  is  not  his  own,  that  his  costliest  offering,  could  he 
multiply  its  value  a  thousand  fold,  would  be  utterly  un- 
worthy of  Divine  acceptance  ;  and  if  called  to  pour 
forth  his  blood  as  a  libation  on  the  altar  of  Christian 
sacrifice,  he  would  regard  it  as  an  ample  explanation  of 
his  conduct,  to  say,  with  an  apostle,  "  the  love  of  Christ 
constraineth  us." 

The  liberality  wanted  is  that  which  provides  itself 
with  regular  resources  by  acting  on  a  plan.  Business 
plans  and  systematizes  in  order  to  gain  ;  covetousness 
schemes  for  selfish  purposes  ;  why  should  the  cause  of 
Christian  benevolence  alone  be  left  to  the  uncertainty 
of  impulses,  and  to  the  mercy  of  what  the  world  may 
chance  to  have  left  ?  ''  Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week, 
let  every  one  of  you,"  says  the  aposile,  "  lay  by  him 
in  store  as  God  hath  prospered  him,  that  there  be  no 
gatherings  when  I  come."  Acting  in  the  spirit  of 
this   direction,    we   should   statedly  invite   the   Divine 


396  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

presence,  so  to  speak,  to  audit  the  accounts  of  our 
worldly  affairs  ;  our  offerings  would  be  presented  with 
cheerfulness  because  coming  from  a  fund  designed  ex- 
pressly to  no  other  end  than  charity  ;  and  the  cause  of 
benevolence,  no  longer  dependent  on  precarious  alms, 
would  be  welcomed  and  honoured  as  an  authorized 
claimant,  a  Divine  creditor ;  while  what  we  retained 
for  our  own  use  would  be  divinely  blest  by  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  rest  to  God. 

According  to  the  apostolic  language  just  quoted,  the 
liberality  of  the  Christian  should  be  distinguished  not 
only  by  plan,  but  also  by  proportion.  In  assisting  him 
to  determine  the  amount  of  that  proportion,  the  only 
step  which  the  Gospel  takes  is  to  point  him  to  the 
Cross  of  Christ ;  and,  while  his  eye  is  fixed  there  in 
admiring  love,  to  say,  "Ye  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ ;"  "Freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give." 
And  can  he,  after  that,  experience  any  difficulty  in 
deciding  the  proportion  to  be  made  sacred  to  God  ? 
Surely,  he  would  rather  exceed  than  fall  short  of  the 
exact  amount.  With  whom  is  he  stipulating  ?  For 
whom  is  he  preparing  the  offering  ?  Well  may  the 
recollection  put  every  selfish  thought  to  flight ;  tinging 
his  cheek  with  shame  at  the  bare  possibility  of  ingrati- 
tude ;  and  impelling  him  to  lay  down  his  all  at  the  feet 
of  Christ.  Only  let  him  pass  near  the  Cross  on  his  way 
to  the  altar  of  oblation,  and  he  will  not  be  long  lost  in 
the  question  of  proportion  ;  his  only  subject  of  anxiety 
will  be  that  his  richest  offering  should  be  so  utterly 
unworthy.  If  poor,  he  will  soon  detect  some  small 
superfluity  which  can  be  retrenched,  or  some  leisure 
time  which  can  be  profitably  employed,  "  Working 
with  his  hands  the  thing  which  is  good,  that  he  may 
have  to  give  to  him  that  needeth."  If  rich,  he  will  not, 
cannot  be  satisfied  with  the  gift  of  money  merely,  how- 
ever large  the  amount ;  the  cause  of  Christ  will  have 
his  activity  and  his  sacrifices  also.  Yes,  the  liberality 
wanted  is  that  which  gives,  not  a  little  from  much, 
but  much  from  a  little;    that  which  shall  induce  the 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  397 

wealthy  Christian  parent  to  offer  np  his  pious  son  on 
the  Missionary  altar,  and  to  lay  beside  him,  at  the 
same  time,  whatever  may  be  necessary  to  make  the  ob- 
lation complete ;  that  which  shall  constrain  the  wealthy 
Christian  to  ascend  that  altar  himself,  taking  with  him 
all  he  has,  and  offering  the  whole  as  a  Missionary  obla- 
tion to  God. 

In  other  words,  the  liberality  wanted  at  the  present 
crisis,  is  the  liberality  of  Christian  self-denial.  And, 
here,  we  would  not  be  understood  to  mean  that  the 
Gospel  requires  that  every  Christian  should,  at  all 
times,  be  found  in  a  state  of  voluntary  and  comfortless 
poverty.  Were  the  thousand  drains  of  selfishness  cut 
off,  the  cause  of  Christ  would  find  an  abundance  from 
his  friends,  and  would  leave  an  abundance  to  them  all. 
When  every  Christian  brings  his  all  to  Christ,  every 
Christian  will  be  able  to  take  away  with  him  again  an 
ample  supply  for  his  most  comfortable  subsistence. 
But  till  then,  is  it  not  the  duty  of  every  one  who  would 
be  deemed  benevolent  to  institute  the  momentous  in- 
quiry which  the  Church  is  now  more  than  ever  called 
on  to  decide — whether,  under  existing  circumstances, 
there  can  be  any  Christian  benevolence  without  self- 
denial  ?  Does  not  the  Church  itself  require  to  be 
moved  by  examples  of  self-denial  ?  Do  not  the  very 
terms  of  Christian  discipleship  include  a  readiness  to  lay 
down  life  itself,  if  required,  for  the  sake  of  the  Gos- 
pel ^  Is  not  the  teeming  population  of  many  a  heathen 
district  perishing  at  this  moment  in  ignorance  of  Christ, 
because  Christians  will  not  lay  down — not  life — but 
some  of  its  superfluities  ?  And  yet  are  these  Christians 
living  around  the  Cross,  in  sight  of  the  crucifixion ; 
and  ever  ready  to  acknowledge  that  they  are  bound  by 
their  obligations  to  it,  to  withhold  nothing  they  possess, 
that  has  in  it  the  least  tendency  to  draw  the  world  to 
the  same  centre  ! 

Nor  can  we  be  supposed  to    imply,    after  what  we 
have  already  said,  that  the  Christian  cause  is   originally 
and  necessarily  dependent  for  success  on  the  property 
34 


398  THE  WANTS  OP  THE  CHURCH 

of  the  Church.  God,  however,  has  been  pleased  to 
employ  the  instrumentality  of  his  people  for  the  con- 
version of  the  world  ;  the  value  of  that  instrumentality 
depends  entirely  on  its  moral  character  ;  and  that  cha- 
racter, to  be  acceptable  to  God,  must  be  perfectly  con- 
genial with  his  own  character.  Now  it  is  worthy  of 
attentive  regard  that  while  he  has  thus  made  the  duty 
of  giving  imperative,  he  has  taken  away  all  pretext  for 
supposing  that  it  is  necessary  on  any  other  account 
than  as  an  exhibition  of  Christian  principle,  by  making 
its  usefulness  to  depend,  not  on  the  amount  given,  but 
on  the  spirit  and  entireness  of  the  gift,  so  that  were 
the  amount  of  our  contributions,  on  the  one  hand,  to 
be  multipUed  from  thousands  to  millions,  that  alone 
would  not  entitle  us  to  look  for  an  increase  of  useful- 
ness. Success  is  not  to  be  purchased.  That  no  in- 
crease of  good  would  arise  from  such  multiplication  we 
dare  not  affirm  ;  for  we  know  not  the  plenitude  of 
sovereign  grace.  But  that  no  promise  in  the  Bible 
would  entitle  us  to  look  for  it,  we  do  affirm.  Success 
is  there  promised,  not  to  acts,  but  to  the  Christian  prin- 
ciples whence  those  acts  should  flow.  And  hence,  on 
the  other  hand,  were  our  contributions  a  thousand  times 
less  than  they  are,  that  alone  would  not  warrant  us 
to  apprehend  a  decrease  of  usefulness.  The  question 
would  still  return,  what  is  the  character  of  our  liberal- 
ity ?  Does  it  partake  of  the  unworldly  and  self-deny- 
ing character  of  the  Cross  .''  We  ask  not  the  amount 
of  what  the  Church  has  given,  but  how  much  it  has 
kept  back  for  mere  self-indulgence  ?  We  ask  not, 
how  many  agents  of  mercy  have  been  sent  forth,  but 
also  how  many  more  might,  and  therefore  ought  to 
have  been  sent  forth  ;  but  which  through  our  selfish- 
ness have  been  kept  unemployed  ?  What  we  have 
left  undone  owing  to  our  worldliness,  has  an  influ- 
ence as  positive  as  that  which  we  have  done  ;  and 
the  only  influence  which  it  can  have  is  to  weaken 
theeflect  of  our  actual  efforts.  In  the  eyes  of  the 
world  it  convicts  us  of  gross  inconsistency,   and  thus 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  o99 

directly  tends  to  neutralize  the  influence  which  belongs 
to  Christian  character.  And,  in  relation  to  God,  it 
suspends  the  shower  of  his  blessing,  and  allows  us  only 
a  few  prelusive  drops  ;  for  how  could  he  distinguish 
with  his  copious  blessing  a  liberality  which  puts  off  his 
cause  with  merely  a  few  of  the  drops  of  its  superfluity, 
without  exposing  his  own  glorious  character  to  the 
suspicion  of  inconsistency  ? 

The  liberality  wanted,  then,  is,  not  that  empty  bene- 
volence which  makes  no  retrenchments,  takes  no  pains, 
costs  neither  effort  nor  sacrifice  ;  but  that  which,  ac- 
tuated by  the  love  of  Christ,  plans,  proportions,  and 
adds  to  its  superfluities  the  precious  savings  of  self- 
denial.  And  the  principal  ground  on  which  we  urge 
it  is,  that  it  is  the  only  liberality  congenial  with  the 
character  of  Christ,  and  therefore  the  only  liberality 
which  he  can  consistently  honour,  to  any  great  extent, 
with  his  blessing.  Till  this  comes,  the  great  shower  of 
his  blessing  will  not  come.  But  when  it  does,  what  can 
stand  before  a  spirit  which  evinces  a  readiness  to  give 
up  all  for  Christ ;  for  the  Spirit  without  measure  will 
come  with  it.  The  world  will  behold  in  such  conduct 
an  argument  for  the  reality  and  power  of  the  Gospel 
which  it  could  not  misunderstand,  could  not  gainsay. 
"  God,  even  our  own  God  shall  bless  us,"  shall  glory 
to  own  such  a  people  before  the  eyes  of  the  world — 
"  God  shall  bless  us,"  and,  as  a  consequence,  *'  all 
the  ends  of  the  earth  shall  fear  him." 

10.  The  Christian  principle  which  originates  the 
liberality  wanted  would  not  stop  here,  but  would  pro- 
ceed to  supply  another  important  want — the  Christian 
agency  of  JMissionary  laymen.  No  reason,  except  our 
defective  devotedness  to  Christ,  can  be  assigned,  why 
the  wealthy  Christian  should  so  generally  confine  his 
Missionary  instrumentality  to  the  mere  act  of  giving 
money  ;  why  he  should  not  himself  accompany  the  Mis- 
sionary preacher  ;  why  he  should  not  select  for  his  resi- 
dence some  unenlightened  region,  and  take  with  him 
"  a  man  of  God"   to  be  the  ministerial  instructor  of 


400  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

his  own  family,  and  the  Missionary  of  the  district 
around ;  why  the  Christian  female,  whom  God  has  pre- 
pared for  Missionary  usefulness,  should  not  emulate 
"  those  women  who  laboured  in  the  Gospel,"  in  apos- 
tolic days  ;  or  why  the  colonization  of  heathen  districts 
should  not  be  attempted  by  the  settlement  of  Christian 
societies. 

It  cannot  be  alleged  in  excuse,  that  there  are  no 
persons  eligible  for  such  a  duty.  There  is  many  a 
Christian  at  this  moment  who  possesses  an  affluent  pro- 
portion of  independent  property  ;  who  has  no  indis- 
soluble ties  which  bind  him  to  his  native  land ;  who  can 
occasionally  leave  that  land  for  a  continental  excursion  ; 
who  is  often  at  a  loss  for  occupation  ;  and  who  con- 
sequently spends  much  of  his  time  in  a  way  which 
absolutely  endangers  his  piety.  It  cannot  be  said  that 
there  are  no  places  eligible  in  heathen  lands  for  such 
to  reside  in.  There  are  many  situations  in  the  British 
colonies  and  dependencies,  at  least,  ivhere  they  would 
find  salubrity,  security,  and  as  many  of  the  comforts 
of  life,  as  those  can  consistently  desire  to  possess  w^ho 
profess  to  be  the  followers  of  Him  who  had  not  where 
to  lay  his  head,  and  whose  treasure  is  in  heaven.  Nor 
can  it  be  alleged,  that  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  is 
the  only  instrumentality  required  for  the  heathen  ;  or 
that  the  effect  of  the  addition  of  lay  agency  would  be 
experimental  and  uncertnin.  "  I  have  scarcely  been 
in  a  foreign  port,"  says  the  American  Missionary  already 
quoted,  the  Rev.  D.  Abeel,  "  where  I  have  not  met 
with  men  from  Christian  lands  engaged  in  business. 
These  persons  are  found  wherever  they  can  reap  ad- 
vantage from  their  worldly  professions.  After  remaining 
some  time  in  a  place,  they  not  only  feel  themselves 
at  home,  but  are  regarded,  by  those  around  them,  as 
naturalized  citizens.  They  gain  the  confidence  of  the 
natives,  and  become  influential.  They  are  looked  up 
to  with  respect,  and  their  opinions  are  sought  for  with 
avidity.  I  have  been  in  countries  where  these  persons 
had  become  so   popular,    as  to   receive  from   royalty 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  401 

itself  marks  of  honourable  distinction.  Now,  the  Mis- 
sionaries have  often  inquired,  why  Christian  merchants 
and  mechanics  might  not  pursue  the  same  course  of 
life,  from  the  motive  of  glorifying  their  Redeemer,  and 
benefiting  their  fellow-men.  They  could  certainly  en- 
gage in  the  same  employments  ;  they  might  probably 
secure  the  same  confidence  ;  and,  at  the  same  lime,  they 
could  make  all  their  relations  and  honours  subservient 
to  the  progress  of  Christianity.  I  have  known  a  few 
persons  in  heathen  countries  who  acted  on  high  reli- 
gious principles,  and  it  is  impossible  to  tell  how  much 
good  they  accomplished.  It  is  not  only  their  personal 
exertions  which  render  them  useful,  but  the  counte- 
nance and  assistance  they  lend  the  Missionaries.  It  is 
in  this  last-mentioned  respect,  that  their  presence  and 
influence  are  exceedingly  desirable.  Being  on  the  spot, 
and  acquainted  with  every  event  which  occurs,  they 
not  only  become  greatly  interested  in  the  salvation  of 
the  heathen,  but  are  prepared  to  improve  every  oppor- 
tunity for  its  promotion.  For  my  own  part,  I  cannot 
doubt  that  Christian  communities  among  the  heathen 
would  produce  the  most  desirable  effects."  Such  a 
community,  by  necessarily  employing  a  number  of  na- 
tives, would  be  placing  them  in  the  best  situation  for 
the  reception  of  Christian  instruction  ;  by  merely  re- 
lieving the  Missionary  from  secular  cares,  they  would 
be  setting  at  liberty  a  considerable  proportion  of  his 
time  and  powers  for  spiritual  duties  ;  by  Christian 
tuition,  visiting,  conversation,  and  the  distribution  of 
religious  books,  they  would  greatly  multiply  his  means 
of  usefulness  ;  and  by  embodying  and  exhibiting  before 
the  heathen,  as  a  Christian  Church,  the  benign  and 
elevating  influence  of  the  Gospel,  they  would  be  con- 
straining observers  to  glorify  their  Father  who  is  in 
heaven. 

The   same   excellent  Missionary  bears   testimony  to 
the    invaluable    influence  of    Christian   female  teachers 
in  heathen  lands.     But  to  form  an  idea  of  their  useful- 
ness, he  observes,  "it  is  necessary  to  be  a  witness  to 
34* 


402  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH  lfti^». 

their  habitual  engagements ;"  and  expresses  it  as  his 
opinion,  formed  from  extensive  intercourse  with  Mis- 
sionaries, that  woman  is  as  indispensable  to  the  suc- 
cessful operation  of  Missions,  as  she  is  to  the  well-being 
of  society  in  Christian  lands. 

Now  let  the  wealthy  Christian  bear  in  mind  that  by 
going  and  personally  co-operating  with  the  Christian 
Missionary,  the  cause  of  Christ  among  the  heathen 
might  receive  not  merely  the  advantage  of  his  own 
time,  and  wealth,  and  influence ;  he  might  be  honoured 
of  God  in  filling  a  wide  sphere  with  the  agency  of 
Christian  women  also ;  and  might,  in  various  ways, 
eminently  promote  the  interests  of  Christian  coloniza- 
tion. 

No  good  or  useful  act  terminates  in  itself;  and  his 
example  could  not  fail,  by  the  Divine  blessing,  "  to 
provoke  very  many."  Why,  then,  should  he  decline 
this  proof  of  his  devotedness  to  Christ  ?  It  cannot  be 
because  it  is  impracticable ;  for  the  Christian  Mis- 
sionary has  gone  before  him,  and  is  calling  him  to 
follow.  He  would  not  plead  that  it  is  because  he 
has  wealth,  for  that  increases  his  responsibility  ;  so  that 
instead  of  acting  as  a  golden  chain  to  bind  him  here, 
it  should  be  rather  converted  into  wings  to  bear  him 
"  far  hence  among  the  Gentiles."  Had  he  never  pos- 
sessed that  wealth,  he  himself  might  possibly  have  been 
a  laborious  Missionary ;  and  surely  he  does  not  imagine 
that  his  wealth  was  meant  to  diminish  his  usefulness  by 
detaining  him  in  self-enjoyment  at  home.  He  cannot 
plead  that  the  state  of  the  heathen  does  not  require  it ; 
for,  let  him  know  that  if  he  will  "retire  to  enjoy  life," 
he  retires  amidst  the  cries  and  shrieks  of  a  world  pe- 
rishing in  its  guilt.  He  will  not  say  that  his  obligations 
to  Christ  do  not  demand  it ;  for  he  daily  acknowledges 
they  might  at  any  time  justly  require  the  sacrifice  of 
life  itself.  Nor  can  he  urge  that  it  is  not  necessary, 
in  order  to  demonstrate  his  devotedness  to  Christ;  for 
the  question  is,  whether  his  disinclination  to  take  this 
step  does  not  arise  from  his  very  want  of  devotedness  ? 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  403 

The  sum  which  he  contributes  may  be  only  serving 
to  conceal  his  want  of  zeal  for  the  active  service  of 
Christ;  so  that  his  personal  consecration  to  Christ  as 
a  Missionary  layman,  may  be  just  the  very  kind  of 
evidence  yet  wanting  and  indispensably  necessary  to 
establish  the  fact  of  his  love  to  Christ. 

11.  Now  from  the  wants  already  named,  it  is  evident 
that,  as  a  Missionary  Church,  we  pre-eminently  need 
an  increase  of  energy  and  zeal.  He  must  be  ignorant 
indeed  who  does  not  know  that  rashness  often  passes 
for  zeal,  and  that  the  path  of  wisdom  lies  between  a 
blind  impetuosity  on  the  one  hand,  and  a  cold  calcu- 
lating policy  on  the  other.  But  blind  must  he  be 
also  not  to  perceive  that  much  in  the  Christian  Church, 
at  present,  which  assumes  the  name  of  prudence,  is 
timidity  and  unbelief  in  disguise.  In  reference  to  its 
financial  affairs,  for  instance,  were  all  the  maxims  of 
worldly  caution  to  be  adduced  in  connexion  with  all 
the  promises  of  God  addressed  to  a  generous,  enter- 
prising, and  open-handed  faith,  how  much  easier  it 
would  be  to  harmonize  them  with  those  maxims  than 
with  these  promises  !  The  spirit  of  commercial  enter- 
prise, the  ardour  of  scientific  pursuit,  or  the  heroism 
of  adventurous  research,  takes  men  annually  by  hun- 
dreds into  the  regions  of  pestilence,  or  storm,  or  eternal 
ice ;  but  no  sooner  does  a  Christian  minister  leave 
home  for  a  foreign  field  of  labour,  than,  as  if  a  miracle 
of  self-sacrifice  had  taken  place,  a  claim  is  set  up  in 
his  behalf  for  the  universal  sympathy  of  the  Church. 
Judging  from  the  history  of  the  Church,  we  have  every 
thing  to  hope  from  bold  measures ;  but  judging  from 
our  own  conduct,  we  have  every  thing  to  fear  from 
them.  "Prove  me  now,"  saith  God,  "  whether  I  will 
not  open  the  windows  of  heaven  to  bless  you  ;"  but 
who  thinks  of  accepting  the  gracious  challenge  ?  Does 
not  our  conduct,  in  eftect,  reproach  the  first  Mis- 
sionaries ;  and  charge  the  confessors  and  reformers  of 
later  days  with  guilty  rashness  ?  If  we  are  only 
prudent,    what   were   they  ?      And  yet  we  profess   to 


404  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

admire  their  deeds ;  boast  of  being  their  spiritual  de- 
scendants ;  and  acknowledge  that  we  owe  every  thing, 
under  God,  to  their  boldness,  fidelity,  and  zeal.  Does 
not  the  conduct  of  the  great  majority  of  Christians  at 
home,  reproach  ev'cn  the  labourers  who  are  at  present 
in  the  Missionary  field  ?  For  if  those  are  right,  must 
not  these  be  wrong  ?  If  the  reasons  which  those  assign 
in  justification  of  their  course  are  to  be  held  decisive, 
then  have  these  laid  themselves  open  to  the  charge  of 
rash  and  inconsiderate  zeal. 

And  yet  who  does  not  feel  that  theirs  is  the  zeal 
we  want  ?  the  zeal  of  a  Paul  and  the  first  disciples; 
of  a  Luther  and  the  early  Reformers  ;  of  an  Eliot  and 
our  first  Missionaries ;  a  zeal  which  would  startle  the 
Church,  and  even  be  stigmatized  by  thousands  of  its 
members — for  what  zeal  has  not  been  ?  zeal  that  would 
be  content  to  be  appreciated  by  the  Christians  of  an- 
other generation.  The  zeal  wanted  is  that  which, 
while  it  invites  prudence  to  be  of  its  council,  would 
not  allow  her  to  reign ;  and  which,  while  it  would 
economize  its  means  and  provide  for  real  evils,  would 
gather  incitement  to  increased  activity  from  the  ob- 
stacles lying  in  its  way — the  zeal  of  our  momentary 
but  strongest  impulses  made  perpetual.  The  energy 
we  want  is  that  which  springs  from  sympathy  with  the 
grandeur  of  our  theme,  the  dignity  of  our  office,  and 
the  magnificence  of  the  Missionary  enterprise.  Oh, 
where  is  the  spiritual  perception  that  looks  forth  on  the 
world  as  the  great  scene  of  a  moral  conflict,  and  beholds 
it  under  the  stirring  aspect  which  it  presents  to  the 
beings  of  other  worlds  ?  Where  are  the  kindled  eye 
and  the  beaming  countenance,  and  the  heart  bursting 
with  the  momentous  import  of  the  Gospel  message  ? 
Where  the  fearlessness  and  confidence  whose  very  tones 
inspire  conviction,  and  carry  with  them  all  the  force  of 
certainty,  and  tlie  weight  of  an  oath  ?  Wliere  the  zeal 
which  burns  with  its  subject,  as  if  it  had  just  come 
from  witnessing  the  crucifixion,  and  feels  its  theme  with 
all  the  freshness  and  force  of  a  new  revelation  ?     The 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  405 

zeal  which  during  its  intervals  of  labour,  repairs  to  the 
mount  of  vision  to  see  the  funeral  procession  of  six 
hundred  millions  of  souls  ?  to  the  mouth  of  perdition 
to  hear  voices  of  all  these  saying,  as  the  voice  of  one 
man,  "Send  to  our  brethren,  lest  they  also  come  into 
this  place  of  torment  ?"  to  Calvary,  to  renew  its  vigour 
by  touching  the  Cross  ?  Enthusiasm  is  sobriety  here. 
In  this  cause,  the  zeal  of  Christ  consumed  him ;  his 
holiest  ministers  have  become  flames  of  fire;  and,  as 
if  all  created  ardour  were  insufficient,  here  infinite  zeal 
finds  scope  to  burn  ;  ''for  the  zeal  of  the  Lord  of  hosts 
shall  perform  it." 

12.  And  where  is  this  flame  to  be  kindled — ichere  is 
the  live  coal  to  be  obtained^  but  from  off  tJw  altar  ?  It 
was  there  that  the  servants  of  God  in  every  age  found  it, 
and  there  they  kept  it  bright  and  burning.  It  was  there 
that  Christ  himself  sustained  that  zeal,  in  the  flames  of 
which  he  at  last  ascended  as  a  sacrifice  to  God.  And  it 
is  only  in  proportion  as  we  are  found  at  the  same  altar 
of  devotion,  that  we  can  hope  to  imbibe  his  spirit,  or  to 
enjoy  the  honour  of  advancing  his  cause. 

But  it  may  be  asked.  Has  not  a  spirit  of  supplication, 
of  late  years,  distinguished  the  churches  of  Christ? 
Notwithstanding  what  we  have  said  of  a  congratulatory 
nature  on  Missionary  meetings  for  prayer,  in  a  pre- 
ceding page,  we  feel  bound  to  reply — only  very  par- 
tially ;  whereas  the  prayer  wanted  is  universal :  only 
very  feebly — whereas  the  prayer  wanted  is  the  effectual, 
fervent  prayer,  which  availeth  much :  only  by  uncer- 
tain fits — whereas  the  prayer  needed  is  the  continuous, 
unbroken,  persevering  cry  of  importunity :  only  the 
prayer  of  party — (efiects  prove  it)  whereas  the  prayer 
required  is  the  prayer  of  "all,  with  one  accord." 

Prayer,  indeed,  is  always  indispensable.  It  brings 
us  to  the  one  spot,  and  keeps  us  in  the  only  place 
in  the  universe  which  properly  belongs  to  us — at  the 
feet  of  God.  It  tends  to  annihilate  self ;  amounts  to  a 
confession  of  our  utter  dependence  upon  God  ;  renders 
appropriate  homage  to  his  greatness  ;  and  thus  keeps  us 


406  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

in  constant  and  active  communication  with  the  Foun- 
tain of  grace. 

There  are  times,  however,  when  the  duty  of  prayer 
becomes  unusually  urgent.  If,  for  instance,  a  period 
should  arrive  in  which  the  philosophy  and  the  philan- 
thropy of  this  world  should  profess  to  be  aiming  at  hu- 
man happiness,  in  common  with  the  Gospel,  and  should 
consequently  appear  to  be  almost  identified  with  it,  how 
important  that  the  Church  should  affirm  the  essential 
difference  between  these  agencies — the  one  expecting 
the  renovation  of  society  from  human  means  alone,  the 
other  relying  supremely  on  the  power  of  God  as  indis- 
pensable to  success.  But  how  can  Christians  visibly 
and  directly  vindicate  the  Divine  honour  in  this  respect, 
except  as  they  are  knovvU  to  be  in  the  habit  of  ap- 
pealing to  that  power,  and  importunately  invoking  the 
Divine  interposition  ^  Now  such  a  period  is  the  present. 
The  world  is  teeming  with  projects  for  the  amelioration 
of  the  race,  and  is  full  of  expectation  from  the  future. 
But  though  it  is  thus  looking,  at  length,  in  the  same 
direction  as  the  Church,  far  different  are  the  specific 
objects  at  which  they  aim,  and  the  principal  means  they 
employ.  "  Our  hope  is  in  God."  But  this  we  can 
make  apparent  only  by  evincing  our  dependence  on  him 
in  prayer.  We  are  to  show  that  in  this  vital  respect  we 
are  at  issue  with  a  sceptical  philosophy  at  the  very  out- 
set ;  that  while  prayer  is  the  last  instrument  which  the 
world  would  employ,  we  not  only  employ,  but  rely  on 
it  ;  and  that  we  place  it,  in  the  order  of  means,  as  first 
and  best.  It  is  in  this  way  alone  that  we  can  practically 
rebuke  the  pride  of  man  ;  proclaim  the  utter  insuffi- 
ciency of  mere  human  means  to  renovate  the  world  ;  and 
claim  for  God  the  glory  due  unto  his  name. 

If,  again,  a  period  should  come  in  which  the  Church 
should  be  quickened  into  general  activity  for  the  good 
of  the  world,  the  only  way  in  which  the  great  mass  of 
the  partially  enlightened  could  be  preserved  from  the 
danger  of  relying  unduly  on  that  activity  would  be  by 
their  being  kept  in  the  posture  of  humble  acknowledg- 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  407 

raent  and  earnest  prayer.  Now  such  a  season  of  grow- 
ing activity  has  arrived ;  and  such  a  danger  has  doubt- 
less come  with  it ;  and  the  niore  that  activity  increases, 
the  greater  our  hability  to  rest  in  it,  to  the  guihy  exclu- 
sion of  Him  who  alone  can  render  it  useful.  This,  in- 
deed, does  not  imply  that  we  are  to  do  less,  but  to  pray 
more.  The  greater  the  sacrifice  laid  on  the  altar,  the 
stronger  the  flame  necessary  to  consume  it.  We  are  to 
remember  that  He  whom  we  serve  is  jealous  for  his 
honour ;  that  he  regards  every  power  in  the  universe  as 
more  or  less  opposed  to  him,  but  the  power  of  prayer, 
and  the  means  which  prayer  has  sanctified  ;  that  he 
views  it  as  an  attempt  to  do  without  him ;  as  a  hostile 
endeavour  to  contravene  the  great  principle  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ — "that  not  by  might,  nor  by  power, 
but  by  his  Spirit  alone,"  the  maladies  of  the  world  shall 
be  healed.  If  we  look  into  the  censer  of  the  "angel 
standing  at  the  golden  altar  which  is  before  the  throne," 
and  if  we  there  mark  what  it  is  of  all  human  instru- 
mentality which  ascends  to  heaven,  we  shall  find  that 
it  is  only  that  which  is  sanctified  by  prayer.  When  the 
clamours  of  a  prayerless  zeal  have  subsided ;  and  the 
undevout  deeds  which  have  dazzled  and  astounded  men 
have  spent  their  force,  let  us  mark  what  is  left  in  the 
censer — only  that  which  partook  of  the  nature  of  prayer. 
This  is  all  that  lives  to  reach  the  skies  ;  all  that  heaven 
receives  from  earth  ;  all  that  is  ever  permitted  to  ascend 
before  God.  And  when  the  history  of  the  world  shall 
finally  be  summed  up,  nothing  which  iiad  not  been  in 
that  censer  will  be  named  except  to  be  condemned. 
Preaching  itself — benevolent  activity  in  all  its  forms, — 
except  so  far  as  it  is  associated  with  devotion,  will  be 
passed  over  to  record  the  triumphs  of  prayer.  Many  a 
Christian  who  once  filled  the  public  eye  with  his  active 
deeds  and  burning  zeal,  will  be  comparatively  unnoticed  ; 
and  the  man  of  prayer — the  wresder  with  God — will 
be  drawn  out  from  his  closet  obscurity  and  proclaimed 
in  his  stead  ;  and  it  will  then  appear  that  while  the  one 
was  only  moving  earth,  the  other  was  moving  heaven. 


408  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHIIRCH 

If  the  activity  of  the  period  referred  to,  aimed 
supremely  at  spiritual  resuhs,  the  necessity  for  prayer 
would  be  still  farther  increased  ;  for  it  is  expressly  in 
order  to  the  production  of  such  results  that  the  agency 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  has  been  appointed  and  promised  ; 
and  it  is  only  in  proportion  as  we  implore  his  presence 
and  influence  that  we  honour  that  appointment,  or  can 
obtain  the  fulfilment  of  that  promise.  But  such  is  the 
special  aim  of  all  the  Christian  activity  of  the  present 
period.  Without  despising  or  overlooking  any  of  the 
real  interests  of  humanity,  the  great  and  ultimate  object 
of  our  endeavours  is  purely  spiritual — the  regeneration 
of  the  world.  Here,  then,  we  are  brought  into  the 
special  province  of  the  Spirit :  a  region  in  which  our 
only  robe  should  be  humility,  our  only  posture  that  of 
dependence,  our  only  language  prayer.  Here,  as  the 
great  Missionary  Spirit,  he  looks  on  all  the  ordinances 
of  the  Church  as  the  instruments  with  which  he  works, 
and  on  all  its  members  as  the  organs  through  whom  he 
speaks,  and  on  the  entire  dispensation  as  emphatically 
his  own.  Now  how  can  we  place  ourselves  in  harmony 
with  such  an  arrangement  without  earnest,  united,  per- 
severing supplication  for  his  gracious  influence  ? 

The  first  prayer  of  Christ  himself  on  his  ascension  to 
heaven  was  for  the  efl'usion  of  the  Spirit ;  and  the  first 
prayer  of  the  Church  should  be  for  the  same  blessing. 
Why  is  it — let  there  be  great  searchings  of  heart — why 
is  it  that  the  promised  impartation  of  the  Spirit  is  with- 
held ?  Why  is  it  that  we  enjoy  only  a  few  drops  of 
that  mighty  influence,  of  which,  at  this  moment,  the 
heavens  are  full  ?  Only  one  explanation  can  be  given  : 
"  We  have  not,  because  we  ask  not ;  or  because  we 
ask  amiss."  Individual  Christians  have  not,  particular 
Churches  have  not,  the  Church  collectively  has  not  duly 
felt  its  need  of  that  influence,  nor  sent  up  the  prayer 
which  is  equal  to  bring  it  down.  If,  then,  we  would 
not  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  ;  if  we  would  do 
homage  to  the  office  which  he  holds  in  the  plan  of  the 
world's   redemption  ;   if  we  would   do   honour  to  the 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  409 

mediation  of  Christ  on  account  of  which  his  gracious 
influences  are  imparted — in  all  our  entreaties  for  the 
conversion  of  the  world  our  loudest  supplications  must 
ascend  for  the  advent  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Besides,  it  is  only  as  our  endeavours  for  the  salvation 
of  the  world  are  accompanied  by  prayer,  that  we  are 
acting  in  harmony  with  the  pervading  spirit  of  the 
Gospel  constitution.  According  to  that  spirit,  every 
thing  is  made  dependent  on  prayer,  and  may  be  effected 
by  it.  What  is  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  himself,  in  prac- 
tical effect,  but  prayer  in  its  most  concentrated,  intense 
and  prevailing  form — the  prayer  of  blood ;  a  prayer  so 
ardent  that  he  consumed  himself  in  the  utterance  ;  a 
prayer  which  is  ascending  still,  and  still  filling  the  ear  of 
God  with  its  entreaties  ;  a  prayer  from  which  all  other 
prayers  derive  their  prevailing  power  ?  Hence,  it  is 
said,  '^  He  is  able  to  save  unto  the  uttermost  all  them  that 
come  unto  God  by  him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth  to  make 
intercession  for  them."  He  has  turned  the  merit  of  his 
sacrifice  into  prayer.  Intercession,  in  his  hands,  is  a 
chain  fastened  to  the  throne  of  God — the  support  and 
stay  of  a  sinking  world.  Yes,  even  Jesus  prays,  and 
by  prayer  succeeds.  If  he  w^ould  have  the  heathen  to 
be  his  for  an  inheritance,  he  is  directed  to  ask  to  that 
eflect.  And  accordingly  he  does  ask;  "For  Zion's 
sake,"  saith  he,  "I  will  not  hold  my  peace;  and  for 
Jerusalem's  sake  I  will  not  rest,  until  the  righteous- 
ness thereof  go  forth  as  brightness,  and  the  salvation 
thereof  as  a  lamp  that  burneth."  And  shall  he  pray  for 
this  object  alone  ?  He  summons  his  Church  to  join 
him:  "Ye  that  make  mention  of  the  Lord,"  saith 
he,  "keep  not  silence,  and  give  him  no  rest."  He 
places  them  at  his  side  by  the  altar ;  puts  into  their 
hand  a  censer  filled  with  incense  like  his  own ;  and  thus 
seeks  to  multiply  the  voice  and  effect  of  his  own  inter- 
cession. 

Wise  and  gracious  arrangement !  For  owing  to  this  it  is 
that  every  believer — even  the  poorest  and  the  obscurest 
— is  afforded  an  opportunity  of  indulging  his  supreme 
35 


410  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

love  to  Christ  by  aiding  the  advancement  of  his  king- 
dom. Let  him  not  waste  his  moments  in  fruitlessly 
deploring  how  truly  small  the  largest  gifts  which  he 
can  lay  on  the  altar  of  Christy  how  httle  the  time 
which  he  can  give  to  his  service ;  or  how  circumscribed 
the  influence  which  his  lowness  of  station  permits  him 
to  exert  for  his  glory.  The  throne  of  grace  is  open — 
open  to  him — open  to  all.  Here,  he  may  say — here  I 
can  gratify  my  love  to  Christ,  and  give  a  loose  to  all 
the  ardour  of  my  soul.  Poor  I  may  be  in  the  world's 
account ;  but  here  I  can  pour  out  at  his  feet  the  wealth 
of  my  affections.  Busy  I  may  be  in  the  service  of  man  ; 
but  here  I  can  repair,  in  thought  and  desire,  and  serve 
him  continually.  And  let  my  influence  with  man  be  as 
limited  as  it  may,  here  I  can  come  and  have  power  with 
God.  While  others  are  engaged  in  pleading  for  the 
cause  of  Christ  with  men,  here  I  can  come  and  plead 
for  it  with  God  ;  here  I  can  vie  with  an  apostle.  While 
a  Paul  is  planting,  and  an  Apollos  watering,  here  I  can 
aid  them  both  by  bringing  down  the  increase. 

If  indeed  the  salvation  of  the  w^orld  be  our  aim, 
whatever  may  be  instrumentally  necessary  to  that  sal- 
vation should  be  made  the  subject  of  prayer.  Especially 
should  the  spiritual  prosperity  of  the  Christian  Church 
excite  our  earnest  desire.  Is  it  inquired.  What  should 
be  the  special  object  of  supplication  for  the  Church  ? 
It  wants  more  spirituality  and  distinctness  from  the 
world ;  it  wants  a  higher  appreciation  of  its  office  as 
the  instrument  of  Christ  for  saving  the  world ;  more 
of  the  spirit  of  liberality  to  sacrifice  for  Christ;  of 
union  in  accordance  with  the  prayer  of  Christ;  of 
zeal  which  shall  burn  for  the  universal  triumphs  of 
Christ.  But  one  want  there  is  which  comprehends 
the  whole, — the  impartation  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ. 
Could  a  convocation  be  held  of  all  the  churches  upon 
earth,  the  object  of  their  one  united  cry  should  be 
for  that  promised  Spirit.  Let  that  be  secured,  and 
in  obtaining  that  we  shall  obtain  the  supply  of  every 
other   want  :    we    should   find   that   we   had   acquired 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  411 

the  same  mind  which  was  also  in  Christ  ;  a  benevolence 
which  would  yearn  over  the  whole  human  race  ;  a 
brotherly  love  which  would  combine  with  the  whole 
body  of  Christians  for  the  recovery  of  the  world  ;  a 
zeal  which  would  be  ever  devising  fresh  methods  of 
usefulness,  practising  self-denial,  and  laying  itself  out 
in  the  service  of  Christ  ;  and  a  perseverance  which 
would  never  rest  till  the  whole  family  of  man  should  be 
seated  together  at  the  banquet  of  salvation. 

But  if  by  thus  imploring  an  effusion  of  the  Spirit 
on  the  Church,  we  are,  in  effect,  interceding  for  the 
world,  since  it  is  through  the  instrumentality  of  the 
Church  that  the  world  is  to  be  converted  to  Christ, 
how  important  that  we  should  realize  in  thought  the 
dignity  and  responsibility  of  our  office  !  We  go  to 
God  as  the  earthly  representatives  of  mankind.  We 
pass  to  the  throne  of  grace  through  multitudes,  myriads 
of  human  beings.  May  we  not  hear  them,  as  we  go, 
imploring  a  place  in  our  supplications  ?  May  we  not 
see  all  Africa  assembled  in  our  path,  urging  us  to  go 
to  God  for  them,  to  describe  their  wrongs,  to  ask  for 
the  blessings  of  the  reign  of  Christ  for  them  ?  And 
before  we  have  done  pleading  for  Africa,  China  comes 
with  its  untold  myriads,  entreating  us  to  intercede 
for  them.  And  while  yet  we  are  pleading  for  China, 
India  comes  with  its  tale  of  lamentation  and  woe,  and 
entreats  us  to  speak  for  it  :  and  can  we  refrain  ?  And 
when  we  grow  faint,  they  all  combine  their  entreaties 
that  we  cry  to  God  for  them  louder  still  ;  that  we  call 
in  help — more  intercessors,  and  more  still, — till  all  the 
Church  be  prostrate  in  prayer.  And  when  we  move 
to  quit  the  throne  of  grace,  they  all,  in  effect,  entreat 
us  not  to  leave  them  unrepresented  before  God.  ''  If 
there  be  a  God,"  they  say,  ''and  if  prayer  can  reach 
him,  do  not  leave  us  thus,  or  we  perish.  Our  only 
hope  is  in  the  God  you  worship ;  the  Saviour  you 
proclaim.  Pray  that  the  blessings  of  his  grace  may 
be  extended  to  us."  Did  we  habitually  realize  our 
office  thus,  our  prayers  would  rise  to  a  degree  of  impor- 


412  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

tunity  to  which  nothing  could  be  denied  essential  to  the 
success  of  our  Missionary  endeavours. 

And  be  it  remarked,  that  prayer  is  not  only  desirable, 
obligatory,  urgent, — the  time  has  come  when,  in  an 
unusual  sense,  it  is  inevitable.  We  read  of  the  Church 
of  old  being  shut  up  unto  the  faith  which  should 
afterwards  be  revealed.  The  Church  at  present  is 
shut  up  unto  prayer.  It  must  submit  to  deep  disgrace 
in  heathen  lands,  or  call  down  unusual  measures  of  help 
from  heaven.  It  is  so  completely  ensnared  by  success, 
that  it  must  sound  a  retreat,  or  betake  itself  to  God 
in  unwonted  prayer.  Happy  necessity,  which  shall 
drive  it  to  this  resource  !  Blessed  exigence,  which 
shall  bring  the  whole  Church  on  its  knees  before  God  I 
The  time  to  favour  her,  yea,  the  set  time  will  then 
have  come.  "  God,  even  our  own  God,  will  bless  us." 
Gazing  from  his  throne  upon  his  Church  suppliant 
at  his  feet,  he  will  say,  "Behold,  she  prayeth  ;  let 
the  windows  of  heaven  be  opened,  and  the  blessing  be 
poured  out." 

Again,  then,  we  return  to  the  position  with  which 
we  commenced  this  part  of  our  subject, — and  our  survey 
of  the  necessities  of  the  Church  has  only  deepened 
our  conviction  of  its  truth, — that  its  great  practical 
want  as  a  Missionary  Church  is  a  spirit  of  entire 
devotedness  to  its  office.  He  who  knows  any  thing 
of  the  human  mind  knows  that  its  full  energies  are 
never  put  forth  unless  its  object  be  single.  He  who 
knows  any  thing  of  the  relative  design  of  the  Christian 
Church,  knows  that  it  deserves  the  undivided  attention 
and  entire  consecration  of  the  whole  Christian.  And 
he  who  knows  any  thing  of  the  history  of  that  Church 
is  aware  that  those  who  have  effected  the  greatest  good 
in  their  own  age,  and  who  are  producing  the  greatest 
impression  on  posterity,  were  distinguished  for  the 
entireness  with  which  they  gave  themselves  up  to  the 
service  of  Christ.  Not  that  they  occupied  a  public 
sphere,  perhaps,  nor  that  they  were  distinguished  by 
any  one  peculiar  mode  of  doing  good ;   but,  whatever 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  41$ 

their  station,  and  however  diversified  their  Christian 
activity,  they  could  each  say,  hke  the  apostle,  though 
in  another  sense,  "One  thing  I  do."  One  all-pervading 
passion,  one  all-controlling  purpose  bound  their  various 
and  versatile  efforts  together,  causing  the  whole  lo 
result,  like  the  intricate  motions  of  a  complicated 
machine,  in  one  entire  effect.  Their  talents  which, 
without  this  spirit  of  devotedness,  would  have  been 
comparatively  wasted,  or  have  ranked  as  insignificant, 
by  it  acquired  a  concentration  and  a  power  which 
arrested  attention,  and  moved  society.  Feeble  rays 
of  knowledge  which,  without  this,  would  have  been 
useless  to  all  but  the  possessors  themselves,  by  it 
were  collected  into  a  focus,  and  made  to  illuminate 
and  burn.  Powers  of  persuasion  and  reasoning  which, 
without  it,  would  seldom  have  moved  or  convinced, 
by  it  acquired  an  impassioned  earnestness  which  would 
be  heard,  and  could  not  fail  to  be  felt.  Each  appeal 
which  they  made  for  God,  however  simple  the  terms 
in  which  it  was  couched,  was  charged  high  with  feeling 
and  fervour ;  each  sentence  an  arrow  with  barbed  and 
sharpened  point  ;  each  attempt  to  reason  for  God, 
"  logic  set  on  fire."  Opportunities  of  usefulness  which, 
without  it,  would  have  passed  by  them  unseen  and 
neglected,  were,  by  it,  anticipated,  waited  for,  met, 
seized,  improved,  multiplied.  Characters  which,  with- 
out it,  would  have  been  unnoticed,  by  it  acquired  an 
air  of  originality  and  greatness,  and  even  obtained  a 
wide  spread  ascendency  over  other  characters. 

There  are  men  now  occupied  in  the  field  of  Mission- 
ary labour  whose  names,  but  for  this,  wouJd  never 
have  been  heard  of  beyond  their  own  immediate  circle  ; 
but  whose  praise  is  now  in  all  the  churches,  and  will 
be  to  the  end  of  time.  Not  a  man  of  this  kind  ever 
lives  without  leaving  on  society  permanent  traces  that 
he  has  been  among  them.  And  why  ?  Partly  for 
this  reason  :  that  the  undivided  and  devoted  man  of 
God  will  be  ever  and  anon  impelled,  by  the  very 
law  of  his  devotedness,  to  advance  a  step,  at  least, 
35* 


414  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

beyond  his  contemporaries ;  to  carry  out  into  vigorous 
action  some  principle  which  they  are  content  to  retain 
slumbering  in  their  creeds ;  to  give  himself  up  to  the 
power  of  his  principles.  True,  by  so  doing  he  may 
often  attempt  more  than  he  can  effect ;  but  what  then  ? 
he  will  effect  more  than  most  men  attempt. 

And  is  not  the  devoted  Christian  the  only  one  likely 
to  develope  and  draw  out  into  benevolent  activity  the 
resources  of  those  around  him,  and  of  the  Church  in 
general  ?  No  one  else  will  feel  sufficiently  concerned 
to  attempt  it ;  or  if  he  did,  the  attempt,  counteracted 
as  it  would  be  by  his  own  example,  would  prove 
nugatory  on  others,  and  recoil  with  shame  on  his  own 
head.  But  the  Christian  whose  heart  is  wholly  devoted 
to  Christ,  cannot  see  the  paucity  of  his  own  means 
in  contrast  with  the  magnitude  of  the  work  to  be 
performed,  and  then  look  around  on  the  unemployed 
and  ample  resources  of  the  Church,  all  of  which  are 
due  to  the  service  of  Christ,  but  nearly  the  whole  of 
which  are  lying  open  to  the  incursions  of  the  world, 
v/ithout  attempting  to  reclaim  them  for  Christ.  He 
cannot  recollect  that  each  member  of  that  vast  body 
of  the  faithful  has  his  post  assigned  in  the  cause  of 
human  salvation  ;  that  in  that  post  all  his  Christian 
influence  should  be  put  into  constant  requisition ;  and 
that  every  thing  dear  to  God  is  suspended  and  sufl^ering 
owing  to  the  general  neglect  of  this  truth,  without 
feeling  impelled  to  warn  his  fellow  Christians.  He 
believes,  and  therefore  speaks  ;  while  his  example, 
louder  than  words,  reminds  them  that  they  are  not 
their  own  ;  that  they  are  exclusively  the  property  of 
Christ. 

And  is  not  the  Christian  whose  devotedness  is  such 
that  he  cannot  be  satisfied  with  giving  himself  less 
than  wholly  to  the  service  of  Christ,  and  who  would 
fain  see  all  the  resources  of  the  Christian  Church 
pressed  into  the  same  service,  and  all  its  members  co- 
operating with  him  to  the  utmost ;  is  not  he,  for  the 
very  same  reasons,  likely  to  be  the  most  earnest  in   his 


IN  RELATION  TO  3MISSI0NS.  415 

entreaties  for  the  indispensable  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  ?  Yes  ;  whatever  else  may  be  essential  in  order 
to  the  conversion  of  the  world,  he  will  insist  first  and 
last  on  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Remembering 
that  the  present  is  emphatically  the  dispensation  of 
the  Spirit,  that  to  convince  men  of  sin  is  the  office  of 
the  Spirit,  that  the  ordinances  of  the  Church  are  the 
instruments  of  the  Spirit,  and  that  every  Christian 
member  is  at  once  the  mouth  of  the  Church  and  the 
organ  of  the  Spirit,  in  their  united  appeals  to  the 
world  ;  he  feels  as  if  he  could  not  move  without  the 
Spirit ;  but  remembering  also  that  his  influence  is 
promised  to  prayer,  he  cannot  do  less  than  cry  earnestly 
for  his  aid.  Thus  earnestly  sought,  and  appropriately 
honoured,  the  presence  of  the  Spirit  will  be  felt, 
nourishing  and  enlarging  his  piety  into  an  element, 
not  affecting  a  part  of  his  character  merely,  but  per- 
vading the  whole  ;  consecrating  his  knowledge,  and 
turning  it  into  heavenly  wisdom  ;  keeping  him  on  his 
watch-tower,  looking  out  for  the  signs  of  the  times, 
and  the  means  of  improving  them  to  the  glory  of  God  ; 
inspiring  him  with  a  growing  confidence  in  God,  in 
the  sufficiency  of  the  Gospel  to  meet  the  wants  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  world  ;  concentrating  his  powers 
to  the  one  great  object  of  human  salvation  ;  impelling 
him  under  a  sense  of  the  magnitude  of  the  work  to 
be  accomplished,  to  excite  and  engage  the  agencies 
of  all  around  him  ;  and  yet  deepening  his  conviction 
that  could  all  these  agencies  be  put  into  full  activity, 
the  power  of  the  Spirit  alone  could  crown  that  activity 
with  success.  As  certainly  as  he  believes  this  he  will 
pray  ;  as  certainly  as  he  prays  he  will  obtain  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  and  as  certainly  as  he  is  actuated  by  the  Spirit 
of  God,  his  will  be  a  devoted  and  efficient  instru- 
mentality. 

Now  such  entireness  of  consecration  is,  not  among 
other  things,  but  above  all  other  things,  in  the  order 
of  means,  indispensable.  Always  obligatory,  it  has 
now  more  than  ever  assumed  a  character  of  pressing. 


416  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

crying  urgency.  The  spiritual  wants  of  the  heathen 
become  apparent  faster  than  we  can  supply  them. 
Cries  for  Missionary  help  thicken  around  us  more 
rapidly  than  we  can  meet  and  appease  them.  The 
Church  is  distracted  by  the  multiplicity  of  demands 
made  on  it,  compared  with  the  scantiness  of  means 
at  present  at  its  disposal.  Entire  devotedness  would 
remedy  the  evil ;  not  so  much  by  adding  to  those 
resources  the  thousand  means  of  influence  which  are 
now  wasted  in  the  world,  as  by  certainly  securing 
an  unmeasured  blessing  from  on  high.  God  would 
arise  out  of  his  place,  and  then,  although  our  means 
were  much  scantier  than  they  now  are,  the  work  would 
rapidly  proceed  to  a  glorious  consummation. 

Christians,  then,  must  live  to  Christ  for  the  con- 
version of  the  world.  The  individual  believer  must 
come  to  feel  that  his  very  business^  as  a  Christian, 
his  calling  is  to  propagate  his  religion.  Instead  of 
wailing  for  great  conjunctures  to  arise  before  he  begins 
to  serve  the  Missionary  cause,  or  delaying  until  he 
has  been  transported  to  some  distinguished  field  of 
usefulness  at  a  distance,  he  must  remember  that 
wherever  he  is  the  sphere  of  his  duty  is  always  lying 
around  him.  Instead  of  waiting  for  others  to  move, 
each  one  must  act  under  a  sense  of  his  individual 
responsibility  to  Christ,  and  as  if  he  heard  the  Saviour's 
voice  singling  him  out  to  tax  his  powers  to  the  utmost 
in  his  service.  Instead  of  taking  example  from  the 
generality  of  those  around  him,  he  must  take  his 
standard  from  the  word  of  God,  and  he  will  be  furnish- 
ing a  model  for  them,  giving  a  pattern  to  the  future, 
becoming  the  founder  not  of  a  new  doctrinal  sect, 
but  of  a  body  of  Christians  distinguished  by  simply 
harmonizing  their  life  with  their  professions.  Instead 
of  admiring  the  devotedness  of  Christ  at  a  distance, 
he  must  feel  that,  like  Christ,  he  has  a  work  given 
him  to  do, — the  extension,  or  prolongation,  in  a  sense, 
of  the  very  same  work, — that  as  the  course  of  Christ 
led  direct  to  the  cross,  his  life  is  to  be  a   continuation 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  417 

of  the  same  course  from  the  cross  to  the  sinner  whom 
it  concerns ;  so  that  the  same  ohject  for  which  his  Lord 
came  into  the  world  and  died,  he  is  to  hve  for  till  he 
quits  the  world. 

Heads  of  famihes  must  remember  that  parental  in- 
fluence and  domestic  relationships  are  to  be  consecrated 
to  the  same  object.  Not  only  must  they  train  their 
children  to  habits  of  benevolence,  early  impressing 
them  that  the  principal  value  of  money  consists  in  its 
subserviency  to  the  cause  of  Christ ;  they  must  look 
higher  and  farther  even  than  this.  They  must  them- 
selves feel  that  the  chief  value  even  of  their  children, 
consists  in  their  consecration  to  the  same  glorious  cause. 
And,  therefore,  they  must  early  begin  to  train  them  to 
take  part  in  it ;  instructing  them  in  the  nature  and 
progress  of  Christian  Missions  ;  impressing  it  on  them 
that  the  conversion  of  the  world  to  Christianity  is  the 
noblest  enterprise  in  which  they  can  engage ;  inspiring 
them,  if  consistent  with  other  claims,  with  zeal  to  em- 
bark in  it ;  and  in  the  event  of  their  so  doing,  preparing 
as  far  as  possible  to  support  them  in  it. 

Christian  ministers  must  not  regard  the  fact  that  they 
are  occupying  spheres  of  usefulness  at  home,  as  a  suffi- 
cient reason  for  declining  to  enter  the  Missionary  field. 
They  are  to  consider,  that  as  long  as  the  demand  for 
labourers  is  so  much  greater  among  the  heathen,  than 
it  is  here,  there  is  a  standing  call  in  providence  to 
exercise  their  ministry  among  them ;  and  that  unless 
they  can  show  the  best  reasons  for  non-compliance,  they 
are  bound  to  listen  and  obey.  Should  such  reasons, 
however,  exist,  they  must  be  missionaries  at  home. 
Their  ministry  to  be  effective,  must  develope  all  the 
resources  of  the  Church,  and  bring  them  forth  into 
actual  operation.  The  holder  of  the  five  talents  was  to 
increase  them,  not  by  acting  without  them,  but  with 
them ;  and  the  man  of  God,  when  put  in  trust  with  the 
ministry  of  a  particular  church,  is  to  look  on  each  of 
ivs  members  as  a  talent  concerning  which  the  Divine 
Proprietor  is   saying,    "Occupy  till  I  come — employ 


418  THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

every  member — every  moment  and  faculty  of  every 
member — to  the  best  advantage,  that  each  may  be  the 
means  of  winning  another,  and  that  my  Church  of  five 
hundred  may  be  the  means  of  gaining  other  five  hun- 
dred more."  With  this  solemn  charge  resting  on  his 
spirit,  he  will  feel  that  his  first  object  is  to  make  the 
most  of  that  church,  with  whose  instrumentality  his 
Lord  has  intrusted  him.  Its  members  may  not  be 
educated,  wealthy,  numerous,  nor,  in  a  worldly  sense, 
influential.  But  they  are  such  as  God  hath  collected 
and  formed  into  a  church,  to  take  part  in  his  sublime 
purpose  of  saving  the  world.  One  thing  is  certain, 
therefore,  that  they  are  all  to  be  employed.  In  this 
sense,  there  are  to  be  no  "private  Christians"  among 
them.  Every  believer  is  a  public  man,  taken  up  into 
the  universal  designs  of  the  God  of  grace.  In  whatever 
sense  they  are  private,  then,  like  the  ranks  of  an  army 
all  are  to  take  the  field ;  the  only  concern  of  the  minis- 
ter must  be  how  to  dispose  of  his  forces  so  as  to  render 
them  most  effective  in  the  cause  of  God.  A  ministry 
which  begins  and  ends  with  itself — however  pious, 
intelligent,  and  eloquent  it  may  be — is  only  the  ministry 
of  one  man ;  and  even  that  counteracted,  neutralized, 
and  often  rendered  worse  than  useless  by  the  slumbering 
and  selfish  inactivity  of  the  people.  But  a  ministry 
which  sets  and  keeps  in  motion  an  entire  church — how- 
ever destitute  it  may  be  of  other  qualifications,  becomes, 
in  effect,  the  ministry  of  all  its  members,  and  thus 
proves  an  instrumentality  of  the  widest  influence  and 
of  the  greatest  efliciency.  And  never  till  the  entire 
Church  is  thus  moved,  and  all  its  resources  put  into 
actual  requisition,  will  the  full  value  of  the  Christian 
ministry  be  seen ;  for  never  till  then  will  it  fully 
answer  the  high  object  of  its  Divine  appointment  In 
the  conversion  of  mankind. 

Why  should  not  each  church,  or  Christian  community, 
take  into  sober  consideration  what  is  its  proportion  of 
the  agency  necessary  to  evangelize  the  world  ?  Every 
church  has  its  few  active  and  its  many  indolent  mem- 


IN  RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  419 

bers ;  or,  at  least,  those  who  are  kept  from  indolence 
chiefly,  to  avoid  the  shame  and  the  remonstrances  to 
which  it  would  lead  ;  and  well  do  the  few  know  that  if 
the  many  were  as  active  as  themselves,  their  collective 
usefulness  might  be  greatly  increased.  And  well  does 
each  of  our  great  Missionary  Societies  know  that  if  all 
the  unemployed  resources  of  the  community  to  which  it 
belongs  were  but  brought  out  from  the  napkin  in  which 
they  are  shrouded,  and  from  under  the  bushel  where 
they  are  hid,  and  placed  at  its  disposal,  soon  might  the 
sphere  of  its  operations  be  enlarged  to  an  almost  inde- 
finite extent.  Now  this  must  be  done.  The  Lord  of 
the  Church  has  made  it  the  duty  of  his  people  statedly 
to  pray  that  more  labourers  may  be  sent  forth  into  the 
moral  harvest.  But  this  supposes  that  we  are  all 
anxious  to  furnish  the  requisite  number,  and  that  as 
soon  as  any  who  are  eligible  for  the  work  appear  in  the 
Church,  we  regard  it  as  an  answer  to  our  prayers,  and 
lake  the  necessary  steps  for  sending  them  forth.  Ac- 
cordingly, instead  of  contenting  itself  with  an  annual 
contribution  merely,  each  Church  must  become  in  a 
sense,  a  complete  Missionary  Society.  If  suitable 
agents  or  those  who  may  be  made  such  exist  within  its 
bosom,  it  must  seek  them  out,  and  press  them  into  the 
service.  If  the  minister  himself  should  express  a  desire 
to  dedicate  himself  to  the  work,  let  the  people  gene- 
rously sacrifice  their  own  wishes  for  the  good  of  the 
heathen.  If  the  Missionary  preacher  cannot  be  found 
among  them,  the  Missionary  layman  may.  If  the 
wealthy  Christian  has  no  higher  reason  for  remaining 
at  home  than  that  which  arises  from  his  comfort  and 
convenience,  he  must  be  aftectionately  admonished  that 
the  least  he  can  do  is  to  send  and  support  a  Missionary 
in  his  stead.  The  Churches  severally  must  feel  a  dis- 
tinct responsibility ;  each  must  perform  a  portion  of 
duty  ;  the  whole  work  must  be  taken  up  more  in  detail ; 
and  each  individual  Christian  must  have  the  appeal 
carried  home  to  his  conscience  as  to  the  manner  and  the 
extent   in   which   he   will   obey   the  last  command  of 


420         THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH,  ETC. 

Christ,  till  he  feels  that  it  is  a  question  which  he  must 
personally,  and,  in  the  presence  of  God,  decide. 

The  Church  universal  must  unite.  Not  only  must 
denominations  of  Christians  verbally  acknowledge  the 
common  guilt  of  their  existing  dissensions,  they  must  be 
seen  practically  repenting,  sympathizing,  co-operating, 
and  even  emulating  with  each  other  in  the  sublime 
struggle  of  saving  a  world  of  souls  from  death.  "  The 
plague  is  legion."  For  ages  the  plague  has  prevailed. 
Countless  myriads  of  immortal  beings  have,  in  conse- 
quence, perished.  And  still  its  desolating  influence 
sweeps  over  the  nations.  The  recovery  or  destruction 
of  unknown  multitudes  depends  on  the  instant  applica- 
tion of  the  Divine  remedy.  That  remedy  is  in  the  hands 
of  the  Church ;  and  it  is  there  that  she  may  rush  with 
it  "between  the  dead  and  the  living."  And  what  she 
may  do,  she  must  do ;  nor  must  she  expect  to  achieve 
"  any  deliverance  in  the  earth,"  any  signal  or  final 
triumph,  until  she  has  laid  herself  out  to  the  utmost 
with  a  view  to  it.  "  When  Zion  travailed  she  brought 
forth,"  and  not  till  then.  "  A  woman  when  she  is  in 
travail  hath  sorrow ;"  and  so  has  a  Church  labouring, 
and  in  pangs  for  the  regeneration  of  the  world.  The 
only  question  with  such  a  Church  will  be,  and  the 
only  consideration  for  us  must  be,  Is  it  whhin  the 
compass  of  our  power  to  send  the  Gospel  through 
the  world  ?  Not,  whether  we  can  send  it  with  a  small 
effort,  or,  in  a  way  which  shall  not  materially  interfere 
with  our  favourite  plans  of  ease  and  habits  of  personal 
gratification.'*  But  can  we,  by  "strong  crying  and 
tears,"  by  the  practical  activity  of  a  bold  and  vigorous 
faith,  by  the  most  strenuous  and  persevering  exertions 
furnish  a  dying  world,  the  Saviour's  world,  with  the 
means  of  salvation  ?  The  question  must  be  answered 
by  the  actual  experiment  of  unreserved  devotedness. 


PART  VI. 


MOTIVES  TO  ENFORCE  THE  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 
OF  CHRISTIANS  TO  THE  GREAT  OBJECTS  OF  THE 
MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE. 


It  now  remains  that  we  exhibit  and  enforce  some  of 
the  motives  which  exist  for  entire  consecration  to  the 
great  objects  of  the  Missionary  enterprise.  And  re- 
membering how  much  may  depend,  under  God,  on 
their  right  selection  and  earnest  inculcation,  the  writer 
cannot  but  humbly  and  earnestly  implore  the  gracious 
aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  none  of  the  precious  and 
momentous  interests  involved,  may  suffer  in  his  hands. 
As  if  all  the  heathen  world  were  present  as  his  clients, 
and  he  were  pleading  for  them  in  the  audience  of  the 
entire  Church  assembled  on  their  behalf,  and  within 
hearing  of  the  reproaches  of  the  myriads  whom  the 
Church  has  suffered  to  go  down  unwarned  to  perdi- 
tion, and  within  sight  of  the  great  tribunal  and  of 
Him  who  sits  on  it,  he  would  faithfully,  affectionately, 
solemnly  urge  the  duty  of  unreserved  devotedness  as 
the  only  hope,  from  the  Church,  for  the  heathen 
world.  Let  Christians  then  devoutly  consider  the 
grounds  on  which  we  urge  this,  and  the  reasons  which 
bind  them  to  comply  ;  reasons  so  affecting  and  weighty 
that  although  the  wisest  and  the  holiest  men  have  in 
all  ages  united  to  enforce  them  with  tears  and  en- 
36 


422  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

treaties,  and  though  some  of  these  men  of  God  ap- 
peared to  have  been  continued  on  earth  chiefly  to 
enforce  them,  devoting  their  whole  lives  to  the  work, 
yet  they  never  have,  never  can  have,  full  justice  done 
to  them  ;  reasons  so  vast,  that  in  order  to  comprehend 
them,  we  must  compute  the  worth  of  all  the  souls 
perishing  in  ignorance  of  Christ,  through  the  want  of 
it,  and  of  all  the  glory  which  through  eternity  would 
redound  to  God  from  their  conversion  ;  and  reasons  so 
deeply  laid  in  the  Divine  purposes,  that  the  great  object 
of  the  advent  itself — the  salvation  of  the  world — is  sus- 
pended on  their  taking  effect. 

Some  of  those  reasons  we  have  enforced  already  ; 
not  waiting  till  we  approached  the  close  of  the  sub- 
ject, but  urging  them  as  they  arose  successively  out 
of  the  various  Parts.  Indeed,  the  whole  of  the  First 
Part  may  be  considered  as  an  exposition  of  the  Scrip- 
tural obligations  to  the  duty ;  while  the  Second  Part, 
on  the  benefits  of  the  Missionary  enterprise,  afforded 
us  an  opportunity  of  showing  that  the  nearer  w'e  have 
approached  to  entire  devotedness,  the  greater  have  been 
the  advantages  to  ourselves  and  others  ;  the  Third  Part, 
on  Missionary  encouragements,  showed  that  nothing 
but  such  devotedness  is  requisite  in  order  to  give  the 
Gospel  to  all  mankind  ;  even  the  objections  to  the 
Missionary  object,  enumerated  in  the  Fourth  Part,  were 
shown  to  be  either  utterly  unfounded,  or  easily  con- 
vertible into  motives  to  the  most  self-denying  zeal  for 
its  advancement  ;  and  the  Fifth  Part  professed  to  show- 
that  such  consecration  forms  the  moral  fitness  which  the 
Church  wants,  and  to  specify  the  various  respects  in 
which,  under  God,  it  would  tend  to  supply  our  Mission- 
ary defects. 

I.  We  would  now  entreat  the  reader  to  consider 
that  this  entire  devotedness  is  called  for,  if  only  to  re- 
trieve^  as  far  as  possible^  the  evil  effects  of  our  past  con- 
duct, both  as  individual  Christians,  and  as  members  of 
the  visible  and  universal  Church.     As  converted  men, 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  423 

we  can  probably  look  back  to  a  period  when  we  lived 
exclusively  to  ourselves.  During  the  whole  of  that 
time,  we  are  to  remember,  our  life  was  planted  in 
battery  against  Christ.  Through  that  entire  period, 
our  character  was  full  of  influence — daily  and  hourly 
increasing  the  power  of  old  trains  of  evil  influence,  or 
originating  new  ones.  Each  of  these  trains  is  still  in 
existence  ;  all  of  them  are  at  this  moment  in  operation 
somewhere ;  some  of  them  doubtless  in  eternity,  in  hell. 
Tremendous  reflection  !  they  have  entered  into  the  cha- 
racter of  some  of  the  lost — become  elements  of  damna- 
tion ;  and  are  now,  while  we  are  here  at  ease,  im- 
parting a  darker  shade  of  malignity  to  their  thoughts, 
and  deeper,  hoarser  accents,  to  their  blasphemies.  And 
on  they  will  go,  extending  and  multiplying  their  fearful 
effects,  till  all  of  them  have  w"orked  out  and  discharged 
their  proper  results  in  the  same  appalling  issue.  And 
is  it  for  us  to  be  now  satisfied  with  the  consecration 
of  less  than  the  whole  of  our  remaining  influence  to 
counteract  the  evil  ?  Even  if  Christ  did  not  expressly 
require  it — if  he  were  even  to  give  us  a  dispensation 
from  it — would  our  sense  of  obligation,  our  agony  of 
solicitude  to  retrieve  the  past,  allow  us  to  accept  it  ? 
If  tears  could  wash  away  the  evil  of  the  past,  could 
we  do  less  than  wish  that  our  head  were  a  fountain 
of  waters,  that  we  might  weep  night  and  day?  But 
tears  cannot ;  to  remove  its  guilt  there  must  be  blood 
of  infinite  value ;  and  to  counteract  its  depraving  in- 
fluence, a  spirit  of  almighty  power ;  while  all  that  we 
can  do — and  surely  we  shall  not  plead  for  doing  less — 
is  to  be  the  devoted  unintermitting  channel  for  the 
communication  of  both  to  the  world. 

Besides  which,  we  nov/  stand  related  to  the  Christian 
Church  ;  and  this  entire  devotedness  is  called  for  to 
retrieve  the  effects,  not  only  of  our  own  conduct,  but 
also  of  those  who  for  ages  have  been  the  professed 
representatives  of  dishonoured  Christianity  to  the  world. 
Let  us  think  what  that  conduct,  age  after  age,  has  been. 
From  the  moment  the  command  went  forth,  "  Preach 


424  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

the  Gospel  to  every  creature,"  the  world  was  divided 
into  two  classes.  Those  who  possessed  the  Gospel 
were  to  view  themselves  as  standing  to  the  rest  of 
mankind  in  the  relation  of  guardians — agents  of  mercy 
— instruments  of  salvation.  What  they  ought  to  have 
been  we  have  seen — alas,  how  perfect  the  contrast  to 
what  they  have  been  !  It  is  fearful  to  think  that,  since 
then,  forty  thousand  millions  of  human  beings  should 
have  been  allowed  to  pass  through  this  world  of  guilt 
and  woe  on  their  way  to  a  dark  and  dreadful  eternity, 
without  having  heard  from  the  Church  a  single  accent 
of  mercy  and  salvation.  It  is  startling  and  alarming 
to  reflect  that  there  should  be  a  greater  number  of 
heathen  in  the  world  at  this  moment,  than  at  any 
previous  period  since  the  Gospel  dispensation  com- 
menced ;  greater  even  than  about  fifty  years  ago,  when 
the  Modern  Missionary  efibrt  began  ;  for  while,  owing 
to  our  languid  measures,  we  are  proselyting  tliem  only 
at  the  rate  of  some  hundreds  or  thousands  annually, 
they  are  yearly  adding  to  their  ranks,  by  mere  increase 
of  population,  about  three  millions  and  a  half. 

But  we  speak  not  of  mere  neglect.  Simply  to  have 
disregarded  the  command  of  Christ  to  evangelize  them, 
would  have  been  harmless,  perfect  innocence,  compared 
with  what  men  called  Christians  have  done  under  the 
pretence  of  obeying  it.  Simply  to  have  left  the 
heathen  to  perish  in  ignorance  and  idolatry,  would 
have  been  mercy,  benevolence,  compared  with  the 
cruelties  they  practised  under  the  name  of  conversion. 
As  they  ascended,  generation  after  generation,  to  the 
bar  of  God,  and  were  asked  the  solemn  question, 
"Where  is  thy  heathen  brother?"  to  have  been  able 
to  reply,  "  Gone  down  unwarned  to  perdition,"  would 
have  been  comparative  merit.  But  his  blood  was  on 
their  hands — they  were  there  reeking  from  his  slaughter 
— his  injured  spirit  was  there  to  accuse  them.  Let  us 
track  their  progress  among  the  heathen ;  and,  if  we 
can  find  it  by  no  other  marks,  we  have  only  to  select 
tlie  path  most  strewed  witl!  the  wrecks  of   humanity — 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  425 

it  is  sure  to  be  theirs.  What  was  Southern  America 
a  century  after  the  first  nominal  Christians  landed 
there  ?  the  vast  and  crowded  sepulchre  of  her  mur- 
dered sons.  Ask  Northern  America,  Where  are  thy 
children  of  a  thousand  tribes  ?  and  the  hill  and  the 
valley  which  knew  them  once  can  only  echo,  Where  ? 
— for  men  called  Christians  have  been  among  them. 
A  voice  is  heard  in  the  south,  "lamentation  and  bitter 
weeping,  [Africa]  weeping  for  her  children,  refuses  to 
be  comforted  because  they  are  not.  Thus,  saith  the 
Lord,  refrain  thy  voice  from  weeping,  and  thine  eyes 
from  tears ;  for  thy  work  shall  be  rewarded,  saith  the 
Lord ;  and  they  shall  come  again  from  the  land  of  the 
enemy.  And  there  is  hope  in  thine  end,  saith  the 
Lord,  that  thy  children  shall  come  again  to  thine  own 
border."  But  whose  is  that  land  of  the  enemy  ?  and 
why  were  they  taken  there  ?  whose  can  it  be  but  the 
land  of  Christians  ?  and  what  could  they  aim  at  but 
their  conversion  ?  Unexampled  infatuation !  in  each 
of  the  instances  we  have  named,  the  system  of  fiendish 
iniquity  was  commenced  in  the  dishonoured  name  of 
Christ,  and  for  the  professed  extension  of  the  faith. 
And  yet — unparalleled  inconsistency  ! — the  only  men 
they  martyred  were  those  who  attempted  scripturally  to 
extend  that  faith ! 

But  speak  we  of  the  past  ?  Still  the  evil  rages  and 
extends.  At  this  moment,  men  called  Christians  are 
the  main  props  of  idolatry  in  India — more  useful  to 
Juggernaut  than  his  own  hereditary  priests.  They 
aspire  not  to  serve  at  his  altar;  they  are  content  to 
hold  up  his  train.  Jesus  and  Juggernaut  are  alike  to 
them ;  and  they  lend  the  sacred  shield  of  the  one,  to 
guard  the  blood-stained  and  worn-out  throne  of  the 
other.  Slavery,  under  another  name,  driven  from  dis- 
embowelled Africa,  is  coasting  other  shores,  seeking 
whom  it  may  devour.  The  monster  has  tasted  blood, 
and  will  not  soon  be  driven  from  human  flesh.  Colo- 
nization and  commerce  still  advance,  with  murder  in 
their  van.  Those  ships,  whose  holds  are  filled  with 
36* 


426  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

distilled  poison ;  those  decks,  piled  with  the  instruments 
of  destruction ;  that  large  fleet,  freighted  with  opium — • 
all  proclaim  their  sleepless  activity,  and  their  chosen 
means.  Go,  mark  the  thousand  shores  and  islands  of 
the  Pacific,  and  say,  with  what  are  their  tribes  mad- 
dened, but  with  the  liquid  fires  which  they  have  im- 
ported ?  with  what  are  they  slaughtering  each  other, 
but  with  the  weapons  which  their  hands  have  supplied  ? 
with  what  are  they  pining  and  wasting  away,  but  with 
the  loathsome  diseases  which  their  vices  have  left  be- 
hind ?  Missionaries  of  Christ  !  is  there  a  single  coast, 
a  solitary  island,  whose  virgin  soil  has  not  yet  been 
defiled  by  their  touch  ?  Hasten  away  ;  or  they  will  be 
there  before  you  ;  there,  to  propagate  an  influence 
which  ages  of  Christian  effort  will  not  be  able  to  efface  ; 
there,  to  render  the  Christian  name,  a  name  for  avarice 
and  treachery,  licentiousness  and  blood. 

True,  there  are  exceptions  to  these  statements  ;  but 
rare  exceptions  they  are.  True,  most  of  the  actors  in 
these  tragic  scenes  have  been  Christians  only  in  name ; 
but  in  name  they  have  been,  and  therein  lies  the  evil. 
True,  we  are  not  directly  answerable  for  the  evil  ;  but 
deeply  implicated  we  are.  When  Christians  should 
have  been  protesting,  counteracting,  moving  heaven  and 
earth  against  it,  they  all  slumbered  and  slept.  Were 
they  not  then  implicated  in  the  guilt  ?  And  the  only 
condition  on  which  ive  can  escape  the  same  implication 
is,  by  doing  what  they  neglected.  Let  us  omit  a  single 
prayer ;  withhold  a  single  mite  ;  send  out  a  single 
Missionary  less  than  we  could  ;  delay  a  single  moment 
to  do  any  thing  short  of  all  we  can  do  ;  and,  during 
that  moment,  and  to  the  full  amount  of  that  neglected 
means,  we  are  implicated  in  the  guilt,  and  are  abetting 
the  destructive  influences,  which  for  ages  have  been 
turning  the  Christian  name  among  the  heathen  into  a 
curse. 

Even  if  it  were  possible  for  Christians  instrumentally 
to  arrest  and  annihilate  at  a  blow  all  the  wide  spread 
machinery  of  evil  which   they  have   allowed   to  cover 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  427 

the  earth  in  their  name,  ages  would  elapse,  time  itself 
must  expire,  before  the  pernicious  influence  of  what 
has  been  done,  would  cease  to  work  against  them. 
But,  till  that  blow  be  struck,  not  only  will  those  evil 
influences  already  in  action  continue  to  extend,  new 
ones  will  be  daily  originated  and  augmenting  their 
force.  For  the  sake  of  the  Christian  name,  then,  in 
which  the  foulest  atrocities  have  been  committed  ;  for 
the  sake  of  the  Church  which  has  guiltily  allowed  it  ; 
for  the  sake  of  that  world  which  has  meantime  sufiered 
the  dreadful  effects,  and  which  often  thrusts  away  the 
cup  of  salvation  because  profiered  by  Christian  hands, 
let  no  one  bearing  the  Christian  name  live  to  himself. 
Could  each  one  multiply  himself  and  his  means  a  thou- 
sand fold,  all  would  be  necessary,  if  only  to  retrieve  the 
guilt  of  the  past. 

II.  Entire  devotedness  to  the  cause  of  Christ  is  ne- 
cessary, not  only  to  retrieve  the  past^  but  as  the  only 
alternative  of  j^artial  hostility  against  him  at  present. 
He  that  is  not  with  me,  saith  Christ — and  therefore 
during  every  moment  in  which  he  is  not  with  me — is 
against  me.  Lax  views  on  this  subject  are  the  origin 
of  much  of  that  inferior  piety  by  which  the  Church 
is  enfeebled,  and  its  usefulness  impaired.  Christians 
generally  appear  to  proceed  on  the  supposition  that 
there  is  a  sense  in  which  they  are  still  partially  their 
own  ;  that  there  are  considerable  portions  of  their  time 
in  which  they  are  at  perfect  liberty  to  relax  as  they 
please ;  that  at  such  times  their  conduct  is  quite  neutral 
in  its  influence ;  that  any  thing  short  of  positive  hos- 
tility against  Christ,  is  to  be  put  down  to  the  account 
of  so  much  service  done  for  him.  Now  were  this  sup- 
position as  true  as  it  is  false — were  it  quite  possible  for 
the  Christian  to  withhold  from  Christ  a  portion  of  his 
resources,  without  rendering  by  such  an  act  the  least 
advantage  to  the  foe,  it  would  still  be  highly  incon- 
sistent and  unjust.  For  at  the  very  moment  we  are 
relaxing  in  his  service,  unnumbered  agencies  of   his  are 


428  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

at  work  for  us.  At  the  moment  we  are  self-indulging, 
we  are  doing  it  with  his  money,  in  his  time,  at  his 
expense,  by  the  hght  of  his  sun.  But  when  we  re- 
member that  every  particle  of  influence  withheld  from 
Christ,  is  so  much  employed  against  him ;  that  neu- 
trality here  is  impossible ;  the  consequences  of  such 
conduct  are  alarming.  Were  it  possible  for  us  to 
ascend  some  mount  of  vision  whence  we  could  look 
down  upon  the  consequences  of  our  conduct,  we  should 
see  that  at  the  moment  when  we  thought  ourselves 
most  perfectly  detached  from  all  around  us,  there  is 
a  sense  in  which  we  were  then  standing  in  the  midst 
of  the  universe  with  lines  of  relation  uniting  us  with 
all  its  multitudes.  We  should  see  that  often,  when  we 
thought  our  character  most  unobserved  and  at  rest,  it 
was  giving  out  moral  influences  without  intermission  ; 
that  the  moment  they  ceased  to  be  good,  they  began  to 
be  evil — that,  however  apparently  unimportant,  they 
have  ever  since  been  swelling  that  tide  of  evil  by  which 
myriads  are  borne  on  to  perdition.  We  should  see 
that  the  world  is  the  scene  of  a  moral  conflict ;  that  in 
that  conflict  we  hold  an  appointed  post ;  that  at  that 
post  every  thing  we  possess  is  a  weapon  of  war  ;  that 
never  have  we  ceased  to  wield  it  either  for  evil  or  for 
good ;  for  the  moment  in  which  we  thought  we  were 
only  pausing,  a  shout  of  joy  ran  through  the  ranks  of 
the  invisible  foe,  who  beheld  in  that  pause  a  proof  of 
our  weakness,  and  the  sign  and  means  of  their  own 
strength ;  so  that  when  we  thought  we  were  only  doing 
nothing  for  Christ,  they  hailed  us  as  an  accession  to 
their  own  ranks  acting  against  him ;  and  thus  we  should 
see  why  it  is  that  Meroz  was  cursed  because  they  came 
not  out  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  and  why  it  is  that  in 
the  final  judgment  those  who  did  nothing  will  find 
themselves  standing  side  by  side  with  them  that  did 
evil,  and  involved  in  the  same  condemnation. 

It  follows,  then,  that  if  we  are  doing  a  particle  less 
than  all  we  can  do  for  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  we  are 
incurring  a  proportion  of   the  guilt  of   those   who  are 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  429 

doing  nothing,  and  for  the  very  sanae  reason.  The 
obligation  which  binds  us  to  take  any  part  in  the  grand 
conflict  which  is  waging,  not  only  holds  us  responsible 
for  doing  every  thing  in  our  utnaost  power,  but  actually 
regards  whatever  is  short  of  this  as  so  much  opposition, 
with  our  cognizance,  against  him.  Let  us  not  suppose, 
then,  that  because  we  are  doing  something  we  are  suffi- 
ciently demonstrating  our  fidelity  to  his  cause  ;  if  we 
are  only  doing  one-third,  so  to  speak,  of  what  we  could 
do,  the  other  two-thirds  are  operating,  as  ours,  m  hos- 
tility against  him,  as  truly  as  that  one-third,  is  operating, 
as  ours,  in  his  behalf.  If  there  be,  for  instance,  some- 
where in  the  heathen  world  a  certain  amount  or  form 
of  evil  which  my  agency,  armed  with  power  from  hea- 
ven, might  entirely  subdue,  and  I  have  aimed  at  the 
destruction  of  only  one-half  of  it,  the  other  half  must 
be  regarded  as  my  agency  for  upholding  the  cause  of 
idolatry.  If  a  Church,  or  an  individual,  support — as 
some  do — a  native  teacher  of  Chiistianily  in  India,  on 
the  condition  that  he  be  called  by  the  name  of  the 
Christian  contributor ;  and  if,  while  supporting  only 
one,  he  could  support  two,  he  must  be  regarded  as 
w^orking  there  by  two  representatives — one  for  Christ, 
the  other  against  him.  True,  the  second,  or  evil  agent, 
has  not  been  named  after  him,  is  not  supportecl  by 
him ;  but  inasmuch  as  he  could,  by  the  Divine  blessing, 
be  counteracting  double  the  amount  of  evil  influence 
which  he  is,  that  portion  of  it  against  which  he  pro- 
claims no  war,  and  makes  no  efibrt,  is  to  be  held  as 
working  against  Christ,  with  his  connivance,  and  in  his 
name.  Precious  influence  !  each  grain  of  whicli  exceeds 
all  calculable  value.  Well  might  our  Lord  be  jealous 
for  every  particle ;  since  there  are  but  two  treasuries 
in  the  universe,  one  for  Him,  and  the  other  for  Satan  ; 
so  that  every  grain  withheld  from  his  falls  into  and 
enriches  the  other.  And  well  may  the  Christian  regard 
himself  with  all  the  sacredness  of  a  temple,  since  he 
cannot  yield  himself  to  any  other  claimant  than  Christ, 
even  for  a  moment,   without  yielding   himself,  during 


430  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

that  moment,  to  a  hostile  party.  So  that,  in  truth,  our 
only  escape  from  partial  hostility  to  Christ,  is  that  of 
unreserved  devotedness  to  his  service. 

III.  The  reference  we  have  made  to  the  great  moral 
conflict  vi^hich  is  pending,  reminds  us  next,  that  the  state 
of  the  heathen  is  such  as  to  require  the  entire  amount 
of  Christian  influence  for  its  amelioration.  It  is  affect- 
ing to  think  that  while  we  are  sitting,  perhaps  in  our 
home,  comparatively  unmoved,  there  are,  elsewhere, 
above  six  hundred  milhons  of  our  race  under  the  almost 
undisturbed  domination  of  Satan;  that  these  myriads 
are  the  wretched  survivors  of  untold  generations,  who 
have  lived  and  died  under  the  same  vassalage  ;  that,  as 
if  they  were  born  and  were  living  in  hell  instead  of  on 
earth,  the  Destroyer  is  living  and  walking  amongst 
them  ;  and  that  almost  all  the  influences  under  which 
they  pass  across  the  stage  of  hfe,  and  which  are  perpe- 
tually darting  and  acting  upon  them  from  all  sides 
round,  are  the  influences  of  a  system  which  he  has  been 
thousands  of  years  constructing  and  maturing  ;  to  which 
he  has  been  constantly  adding  something,  and  the  sole 
merit  of  which,  in  his  eyes,  consists  in  the  efficacy  and 
certainty  with  which  it  invades  and  destroys  them. 
Such,  we  may  suppose,  was  the  sight  which  Jesus 
beheld,  when  from  the  mountain's  top  the  tempter 
meant  that  he  should  see  only  "the  kingdoms  of  the 
world  and  the  glory  of  them."  And  is  it  true,  that  after 
the  Gospel  has  been  amongst  us  nearly  two  thousand 
years,  that  spectacle  is  to  be  seen  still  ^  Ascend,  in 
thought,  the  same  mount — we  might  say  to  the  inquirer 
— and  you  behold  substantially  the  same  vision.  Take 
a  hasty  glance  at  them,  at  least  ;  more,  you  cannot ;  for 
were  they  to  assume  the  most  dense  and  compacted  form, 
days  must  elapse  before  they  would  all  have  passed.  Look 
down  upon  them — if  the  thick  darkness  w^iich  hangs 
over  them  will  permit ;  look  down,  and  mark  their  con- 
dition. Listen  to  the  din  of  the  great  Babel ;  do  you 
hear  any  voice  of  prayer  }  do  you  see  any  hopeful  sign  ? 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  431 

It  is  true,  they  have  priests — but  they  are  impostors 
and  murderers  ;  and  altars — but  they  are  stained  with 
human  blood  ;  and  objects  of  worship — but  they  "  sacri- 
fice to  devils,  and  not  to  God."  Look  closer  still  ;  and 
as  you  look,  think  of  all  the  elements  of  influence — 
ancestry — wealth — numbers — you  cannot  name  one 
which  is  not  made  to  minister  to  their  destruction. 
Enumerate  the  vices — avarice,  sensuality,  revenge — you 
cannot  specify  one  which  is  not,  not  merely  embodied, 
but  adored ;  for  these  are  their  gods  under  other  names. 
You  cannot  point  out  a  single  object  in  the  air,  the 
earth,  or  the  waters,  which  might  be  pressed  into  the 
service  of  sin,  and  which  is  not  actually  so  employed. 
You  cannot  discover  a  single  individual  who  is  not 
acting  on  every  other  being  in  all  that  countless  mass 
in  confirmation  of  their  common  depravity.  You  can- 
not name  a  sense  of  the  body,  a  faculty  of  the  soul,  an 
evil  propensity  of  our  nature,  which  is  not  seized  and 
held  fast  by  as  many  hands  as  some  of  their  false 
divinities  possess,  and  which  does  not  lend  its  willing 
aid  in  return.  You  cannot  name  a  single  moment, 
from  birth  to  death,  in  which  the  whole  of  this  infernal 
machinery  is  not  everywhere  in  destructive  activity, 
shedding  poison,  and  raining  death;  an  activity,  com- 
pared with  which,  the  utmost  mechanical  velocity,  or 
the  still  greater  activity  of  the  material  elements  them- 
selves, are  mere  quiet  and  repose. 

And  having  surveyed  this  dense  array  of  evil — having 
explored  this  living  continent  of  depravity — do  you 
wonder  that  God  does  not  burn  it  from  the  earth  ? — 
does  not  forthwith  sweep  the  whole  of  these  myriads 
away  with  the  besom  of  destruction  ?  Them!  Destroy 
them !  Their  guilt  is,  in  one  respect,  venial,  compared 
with  the  sin  of  the  Christian  Church.  Their  state, 
fearful  as  it  is,  is  explicable,  compared  with  the  conduct 
of  those  who  hold  in  their  hands  the  known  means  of 
their  rescue,  but  refuse  to  employ  them. 

Look,  we  entreat  you,  look  at  those  myriads  again. 
You  think,  perhaps,   that  you  do  see  them ;  many,  at 


432  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

least,  may  flatter  themselves  that  they  do ;  but,  no,  they 
have  not  yet — their  conduct  proves  it.  See,  the  count- 
less mass  is  at  worship — before  the  throne  of  Satan, 
glowing  as  with  the  heat  of  an  infernal  furnace — with 
rage,  lust,  and  cruelly,  for  their  religious  emotions. 
Look  at  them  again — their  demon  worship  is  over ; 
but,  are  they  satisfied  ?  How  eager  their  looks  !  how 
objectless  and  restless  their  movements !  how  the  living 
mass  of  misery  heaves,  and  surges,  and  groans,  and 
travails  in  pain  together  ! 

Look  at  them  once  more ;  they  are  travellers  into 
eternity ;  mark,  how  vast  the  procession  they  form, 
how  close  their  ranks,  how  continuous  the  line,  how 
constant  and  steady  the  advance !  Do  you  see  them 
now  ?  Then  you  see  that  angry  cloud  which  hangs 
over  their  ranks — which  moves  as  they  move — and 
which  ever  and  anon  emits  a  lurid  flash  ;  it  is  stored 
with  the  materials  of  judicial  wrath.  Do  you  mark 
them  still  ?  Then  you  see  that  thousands  of  them  have 
reached  the  edge  of  a  tremendous  gulf — it  is  the  gulf 
of  perdition,  and  they  are  standing  on  the  very  brink. 
Are  you  sure  that  you  see  them  ?  God  of  mercy  !  they 
are  falling  over — iliey  are  gone  !  And  we  never,  never 
tried  to  save  them  !  Father,  forgive  us,  we  know  not 
what  we  do.  Saviour  of  sinners,  spare  us  yet  another 
year.  We  know  they  are  lost — lost  to  happiness  and 
lost  to  thee !  We  could  have  told  them  of  thee — 
shown  them  thy  cross — given  them  thy  Gospel — pointed 
them  the  way  to  heaven.     But  they  are  lost  ! 

Talk  not  of  enthusiasm  !  He  who  has  felt  most,  has 
not  yet  felt  enough.  We  are  speaking  of  scenes  of 
misery  over  which  a  Paul  wept  with  anguish  !  We  are 
living  in  the  very  world  for  wliich  Christ  bled  in  agony  ! 
Those  very  scenes  which  hardly  raise  an  emotion  in  us, 
are  the  scenes  which  moved  the  heart  of  God — which 
produced  the  Cross  of  Christ.  So  that  were  every 
Christian  to  tremble  with  emotion — were  the  members 
of  every  Church  to  meet  on  the  subject,  to  start  from 
their  supineness  as  one  man,  and  to  utter  a  loud  cry  of 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  433 

lamentation — were  the  whole  Church  to  be  seized  as  in 
travail  for  souls,  it  would  be  only  what  sympathy  with 
Christ  requires,  and  what  the  state  of  a  perishing  world 
demands. 

IV.  The  duty  of  intense  devotedness  to  the  work  of 
imparting  the  Gospel  is  greatly  increased  bij  the  remark' 
able  manner  in  ivhich  Providence  has  brought  and 
placed  the  world  at  our  feet  in  order  to  receive  it. 

There  n)ight  have  been  but  one  unenlightened  district 
left  on  the  face  of  the  earth — but  one  unconverted  man 
— and  he  a  miserable  object,  the  lone  inhabitant  of  some 
distant  and  desert  isle.  Yet  such  is  the  human  soul, 
so  incomparably  superior,  owing  to  its  spiritual  nature, 
its  endless  duration,  and  its  vast  capabilities,  to  the 
whole  material  universe,  and  so  momentous  an  object 
is  its  recovery  in  the  estimation  of  Christ,  that,  if  neces- 
sary, it  would  be  the  duty  of  all  the  other  inhabitants 
of  the  earth  to  have  embarked  their  treasures,  joined 
their  supplications,  combined  and  taxed  their  utmost 
resources,  for  the  conversion  of  that  solitary  man.  But 
if  all  this  would  be  justified  for  the  salvation  of  one 
man — if  a  particle  less  than  all  this  would  be  a  betrayal 
of  our  trust,  an  insult  to  all  immortal  natures,  and 
treason  against  the  throne  of  Christ,  when  only  one  soul 
was  concerned,  what  must  be  the  guilt  of  less  than 
entire  devotedness  when  the  unconverted  are  so  many 
that  they  are  crowded  in  cities,  swarming  on  islands, 
overflowing  continents,  teeming  every  where  ?  If  when 
the  Church  had  so  far  "multiplied,  and  replenished  the 
earth,"  as  to  have  left  but  a  single  district  unenlightened, 
it  would  yet  be  bound,  if  necessary,  to  devote  all  its 
united  energies  to  the  recovery  of  that  solitary  region, 
where  could  we  find  language  strong  enough  to  describe 
the  inconsistency  of  that  region,  if  on  the  contrary  sup- 
position that  it  alone  possessed  the  Gospel,  and  all  the 
rest  of  the  earth  were  perishing,  it  yet  contented  itself 
with  a  few  cheap  and  easy  expressions  of  concern  for 
their  salvation  ? 

37 


434  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

But  though  this  supposition  partially  represents  our 
actual  position  and  conduct  in  relation  to  the  heathen 
world,  our  opportunities  of  saving  them  might  have 
been  such  as  to  render  the  attempt  all  but  hopeless. 
We  might  have  been  held  in  cruel  slavery,  unable  to 
move  without  a  chain  ;  or  the  scattered  inhabitants  of  some 
arctic  region,  comparatively  cut  off  from  intercourse  with 
the  rest  of  the  w^orld  ;  or  imprisoned,  for  every  Mis- 
sionary purpose,  in  the  heart  of  a  vast  continent  ;  or 
the  idolatrous  nations  generally  might  be  so  averse  to 
Christianity,  as  rigorously  to  inflict  death  on  any  of  its 
agents,  who  might  dare  to  approach  them.  And  yet,  if 
even  then,  less  than  entire  devotedness  to  the  world's 
salvation,  would  have  been  the  highest  guilt,  by  what 
plea  can  we  now  excuse  ourselves  for  less,  when  the 
world  in  a  sense,  is  given  into  our  hands  ?  We  might 
have  been  originally  an  island  of  barbarians,  the  prey 
of  every  roving  pirate,  and  the  trembling  victims  of 
civilized  oppression.  And,  if  then  the  dayspring  from 
on  high  had  visited  us,  and  prepared  us  for  all  our 
subsequent  improvement — if,  as  our  ancient  oppressors 
declined  and  were  recalled  from  the  stage  of  action,  ive 
gradually  emerged  and  rose  into  national  importance — 
if,  when  the  ark  of  the  truth  was  in  danger,  we  were 
honoured  by  God  to  act  as  its  defenders — if,  as  often 
as  our  foes  combined  to  destroy  us,  they  were  not  only 
defeated,  but  doomed  to  the  mortification  of  seeing  us 
rise  to  greater  prominence  than  before — if  a  name  and 
a  character  became  ours  wliich  operated  universally  in 
our  favour  as  a  moral  charm — if  our  commerce  were 
welcomed  in  almost  every  port — if  our  political  influ- 
ence were  felt  in  every  cabinet — if  surrounding  powers 
were  dispossessed  of  their  foreign  dependencies  that  we 
might  enjoy  them — and  if  other  vast  and  populous 
regions  of  the  earth  came  unexpectedly  into  our  pos- 
session, till  a  considerable  portion  of  the  race  were 
sitting  at  our  feet — should  we  not  feel  that  each  stage 
of  our  course  had  brought  with  it  an  increase  of  re- 
sponsibility,  till  our    position  had    become    one   which 


TO  THE   MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  435 

left  US  no  alternative,  but  that  of  entire  consecration  to 
its  duties  ?  But  who  does  not  know  that  this  is  far 
below  the  reality  of  our  history  ? 

What  was  our  political  condition  only  a  century  hgo  ? 
The  great  powers  which  divided  the  empire  of  the  world 
did  not  reckon  us  among  them.  The  total  number  of 
British  subjects,  including  those  of  all  our  dependencies, 
did  not  exceed  13,000,000.  What  is  their  number  now  ? 
Upwards  of  152,000,000;  which  is  more  than  a  sixth 
portion  of  the  human  race  ;  considerably  more  than  the 
population  of  the  ancient  Roman  empire  ;  nearly  double 
that  of  the  nations  now  subject  to  Mahometan  rulers ; 
and  greatly  exceeding  the  number  of  those  who  acknow- 
ledge the  supremacy  of  the  Pope.  In  order  to  this, 
we  have  been  permitted  to  succeed  to  the  possessions 
of  Holland  and  of  Portugal  in  India — to  the  empire  of 
the  Mahometan  sovereigns  of  India — to  the  com- 
mercial ascendency  of  the  Venetians  in  the  Levant — to 
a  political  and  moral  ascendency  more  nearly  approach- 
ing to  universal  empire  than  probably  any  other  nation 
of  which  we  read  in  the  pages  of  history.  But  why  .'* 
The  believer  in  revelation  has  but  one  reply.  Why 
was  each  of  the  great  nations  of  antiquity  made  in  suc- 
cession the  leader  of  the  world  ;  why,  but  that  it  rnighl 
answer  some  specific  moral  purpose,  corresponding  with 
its  advantages  and  obligations  ?  But  failing  to  fulfil  its 
high  vocation,  there  came  forth  the  likeness  of  a  man's 
hand,  and  wrote  the  doom  of  each,  and  gave  its  power 
to  another. 

"  When  do  you  expect  that  your  nation  will  recover 
its  power  in  India  ?"  said  an  Englishman  to  a  Portuguese 
priest  of  Goa,  soon  after  the  power  of  Portugal  in  India 
had  been  overthrown.  The  priest  replied,  "  As  soon 
as  the  wickedness  of  your  nation  shall  exceed  that  of 
ours."  We  hold  India  by  the  imperative  condition, 
that  we  subserve  the  designs  of  Providence  respecting 
it;  let  that  condition  be  violated,  and  the  possession 
ceases  with  the  infraction.     Our  ascendency  and  advan- 


436  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

tages  are  so  many  talents  of  mighty  worth  ;  and  he  who 
has  conferred  them  has  done  so  with  deep  calculation, 
and  for  a  special  end.  They  constitute  Britain  the 
centre  around  which  at  this  Uiue  revolve  the  hopes  and 
destinies  of  man.  But  whatever  the  nation  is,  it  is  for 
the  Church.  The  military  conquests  of  the  former, 
have  heen  permitted  only  for  the  peaceful  achievements 
of  the  latter.  Territorial  enlargements  and  political 
influence  have  been  given  us  only  to  prepare  the  way 
and  create  a  sphere  for  our  Missionary  efforts.  But 
who  can  measure  the  largeness  of  that  sphere,  count  up 
the  population  which  it  contains,  and  remember  that 
our  opportunity  for  giving  them  the  Gospel  is  only  for 
an  appointed  time — without  feeling  that  for  the  Church 
to  lose  a  moment,  or  neglect  an  effort,  for  saving  them, 
is  treachery  to  itself,  murderous  cruelty  to  them,  and 
trifling  with  God  ?  And  tlie  call  for  this  unremitting 
concern  becomes  more  urgent  from  the  fact  that,  as 
a  nation  we  have  obtained  much  of  our  political  influence 
over  them  by  an  energy  of  application  to  our  object  in 
which  treasures  and  lives,  by  hundreds  and  thousands, 
have  been  treated  as  the  small  dust  of  the  balance.  Shall 
less  energy  be  exhibited  by  the  Church  militant,  in 
claiming  them  as  the  subjects  of  Him  who  is  King  of 
kings,  and  Lord  of  lords  ^ 

And  still  further  is  this  demand  on  our  devotedness 
increased  by  the  fact  that  a  very  large  proportion  of 
the  heathen  of  whom  we  speak,  not  only  ascribe  our 
mutual  position  to  an  invisible  hand,  but  are  actually 
ready  to  place  themselves  as  disciples  at  our  feet. 
Hundreds  of  thousands  of  them  may  be  said  to  be 
standing  at  this  moment  on  the  threshold  of  the  temple 
of  idolatry,  ready  to  quit  it  for  ever.  Shall  we  call 
them  into  the  Church  of  Christ,  or  shall  we  remand 
them  back  to  rekindle  the  fires  of  their  Moloch  ?  and 
to  rebuild  the  altars  of  their  demon  worship  ?  Mul- 
titudes of  them  are  standing  at  the  gates  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church — the  hand  of  Providence  has  directed  them 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  437 

t^nere — they  bring  with  them  signs  from  heaven  that  he 
has  sent  them,  and  that  he  expects  us  to  receive  and 
instruct  them.  Are  we  ready  to  make  the  sacrifices 
"which  the  occasion  requires  ?  At  all  events,  if  we  will 
persist  in  neglecting  them  let  us  plainly  avow  the  reason. 
Before  we  finally  dismiss  them  to  destruction,  let  us, 
by  public  manifesto,  or  otherwise,  exculpate  Chris- 
tianity, and  blame  the  only  guilty  cause  by  telling  them, 
"Your  conversion  to  the  Christian  faith  is  an  object  of 
the  highest  importance.  To  effect  it,  would  greatly 
augment  our  heavenly  happiness ;  secure  infinite  bless- 
edness to  you  ;  and  bring  to  God  everlasting  glory.  As 
far  as  our  instrumentality  is  necessary,  the  means  are 
all  in  our  possession.  But  we  cannot  furnish  them  with- 
out abridging  our  self-indulgence  ;  and  as  this  requires 
more  love  for  your  souls  and  regard  for  the  authority 
of  Christ  than  we  possess,  we  see  no  alternative  t^utthat 
of  leaving  you  to  perish."  Now  startling  as  such  lan- 
guage may  seem,  by  what  other  terms  can  we  excuse 
ourselves  from  entire  devotedness  to  their  salvation  ? 

V.  Some  have  exhibited  this  devotedness ;  and  here  is 
another  inducement  to  our  consecration.  For  though 
our  obligation  is  quite  independent  of  what  others  may 
do,  yet  the  fact,  that  some  have  entirely  surrendered 
themselves  to  that  obligation,  furnishes  us  with  an 
additional  motive  to  do  likewise,  and  will  render  us  the 
more  inexcusable  if  we  do  not.  Are  we  asked  the 
names  of  such  men,  and  who  they  were  ?  Ask — we 
reply — ask  inspiration  the  names  of  the  men  who  first 
filled  the  woi^ld  with  the  news  of  salvation,  from  the 
burning  Paul  to  the  humblest  evangelist  of  his  day. 
Ask  Protestant  Christendom  the  names  of  her  reformers 
and  confessors  ;  and  she  will  tell  you  of  a  Wiclifi^e  and 
a  Zuingle,  a  Luther,  a  Melancthon,  and  a  Huss — men 
of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy.  Ask  our  Mis- 
sionary Societies  the  names  of  their  honoured  founders 
— and  they  will  tell  you  of  men  who  travelled,  pleaded, 
37* 


438  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

wept,  while  the  world  around  them  slept.  Ask  thera 
the  names  of  the  Missionaries  they  most  delight  to 
honour,  and  they  will  give  you  a  long  list  of  worthies, 
from  an  Eliot  of  the  seventeenth  century,  penetrating 
the  depths  of  the  American  wilderness,  to  the  Moravian 
heroes  of  the  eighteenth  century,  braving  the  snows  of 
Greenland,  down  to  the  man  of  "  Missionary  Enter- 
prises," just  gone  to  explore  the  Southern  Pacific  for 
fresh  fields  of  Gospel  triumph.*  And  what  shall  we 
more  say  ?  for  the  time  would  fail  us  to  tell  of  a 
Brainerd  and  a  Stach,  a  Svvartz  and  a  Coke,  a  Martyn 
and  a  Morrison,  a  Carey  and  a  Marshman,  who  through 
faith  subdued  kingdoms  to  the  obedience  of  Christ, 
turned  spears  into  pruning  hooks,  civilized  savage  tribes, 
smote  ofl^  the  fetters  of  the  slave — gave  the  Bible  to  the 
nations — and  went  every  where  claiming  those  nations 
for  God.  Had  the  Grecian  soldier  a  loftier  character 
to  sustain  after  ThermopyljE  and  INIarathon  ?  What 
a  character  have  we  to  sustain  since  such  men  trod  the 
earth  ?  Yet  ask  them  the  secret  of  their  success — ask 
them,  we  say — for  they  are  near  us — do  we  not  feel 
their  presence  ?  Are  we  not  sensible  of  a  great  cloud 
of  witnesses.''  Ask  them  the  secret  of  their  success — 
and,  while  they  point  to  him  at  whose  feet  they  cast 
their  crowns  as  the  efficient  cause — they  will  tell  you, 
that  instrumentally,  they  owe  it  to  the  singleness  of 
their  aim,  the  unity  of  their  purpose,  the  utter  devoted- 
ness  of  their  lives  to  their  great  object.  And  yet  ardent, 
devoted  as  they  were,  in  what  respect  did  they  exceed 
their  duty  ? 

Holy,  honoured,  illustrious  men,  what  are  we  that 
we  should  be  admitted  to  your  glorious  fellowship! 
Had  you  not  lived,  we  should  have  applauded  deeds 
which  now  we  must  pass  unnamed  !  We  cannot  talk  of 
what  we  give  in  your  presence — you  gave  yourselves. 
We  cannot  boast  of  our  enthusiasm  in  your  hearing — 

*  Now  gone  to  his  reward,  as  the  "Martyr  of  Erromanga." 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  439 

your  zeal  consumed  you.  We  dare  not  speak  of  our 
sacrifices  before  you — you  would  remind  us  that  the 
world  has  had  but  one  sacrifice,  and  never  can  have 
another — and  yet  you  gave  your  lives,  your  all.  How 
have  you  raised  the  standard  of  Christian  action  !  What 
new  responsibihties  have  you  devolved !  Never  can 
we  vindicate  our  title  as  your  successors,  nor  complete 
what  you  began,  but  by  binding  ourselves  up  with  it, 
as  you  did,  for  life  and  for  death. 

VI.  The  importance  of  a  devoted  Church  will  ap- 
pear if  we  reflect  that  the  distinguishing  characteristics 
of  the  age  is  that  of  change  and  transition^  and  that  only 
such  a  Church  is  prepared  to  turn  this  peculiarity  to  the 
proper^  the  higliest  account.  Never  since  time  began 
was  the  human  mind  in  such  close,  quick,  constant, 
sympathetic,  universal  communication  as  now.  And 
consequently,  never  w^as  there  so  general  and  thorough 
an  awakening  of  mind  as  now.  Look  where  we  will, 
it  is  quivering  with  impulses,  thrilling  with  excitement, 
restless  for  change,  panting  for  a  good  which  it  has  not. 
This  state  of  things  has  been  brought  about,  partly  hy 
Christian  activity ;  entirely  for  that  activity.  The 
world  could  not  take  the  proper  advantage  of  it,  if  it 
would,  for  it  has  not  the  means ;  nor  would  it  if  it 
could,  for  it  has  not  the  motives  ;  nor  might  it,  under 
any  circumstances,  for  the  great  changes  and  improve- 
ments of  society  are  evidently  reserved  by  God  to  be 
effected  by  his  Church.  Hence  all  the  great  and  bene- 
ficial movements  of  the  day — the  liberation  of  the  slave 
— the  religious  education  of  the  young — the  advancement 
of  civilization,  have,  in  fact,  originated  with  Christians ; 
and  for  this  obvious  reason,  that  the  glory  might  be 
exclusively  his  own.  But  for  the  same  reason  that 
these  great  movements  have  not  originated  with  a 
worldly  philosophy,  the  greater  and  more  spiritual 
changes  yet  to  take  place,  will  not  originate  with  a 
worldly  Church.     We   want  one  of  the  primary  means, 


440  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

which  is  visible  union.  And  this  makes  it  evident — 
evident  to  the  world — that  we  want  one  of  the  primary 
motives — that  zeal  for  Christ,  and  love  for  souls,  which 
would  impel  us  to  unite.  And  hence  it  is  obvious  that, 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  we  must  be  wanting  in  weight 
of  character.  For,  in  order  to  obtain  the  direction  of 
public  opinion  at  home,  and  to  take  advantage  of 
changes  abroad,  we  must  be  in  advance  of  the  world ; 
in  advance  of  its  intelligence  in  every  thing  relating  to 
human  welfare  ;  in  advance  of  its  benevolent  activity ; 
but,  above  all,  in  immeasurable  advance  of  its  character. 
Rather,  we  should  have  said,  we  must  have  a  character 
of  our  own  to  which  the  world  would  never  venture  to 
make  a  pretension  ;  a  character  for  disinterestedness, 
liberality,  self-denial,  and  united  supplications  to  God  ; 
a  character  for  being  always  ready — ready  with  our 
plans,  and  ready  with  our  means,  for  seizing  every 
opening  of  usefulness  ;  a  character  for  denying  ourselves 
that  we  might  be  thus  ready,  and  yet  not  being  sensible 
that  we  denied  ourselves  at  all ;  a  character  for  living 
only  for  one  object,  to  establish  the  reign  of  Christ 
upon  earth.  Such  a  character,  indeed,  the  world  might 
not  admire,  but  could  not  resist. 

But  ^5  this  our  character  ?  Are  we  thus  ready  ?  Are 
not  a  thousand  doors  of  usefulness  standing  open  at 
this  moment,  in  India  alone,  which  we  are  not  prepared 
to  enter  ?  Are  we  not  distracted  between  the  scanti- 
ness of  our  present  available  resources,  and  the  number 
and  diversity  of  the  demands  made  on  them?  Yet  the 
world  knows  full  well,  and  we  know  too,  that  were  we 
truly  in  earnest,  we  could  multiply  these  resources  a 
thousand  fold.  The  world  knows,  and  we  know  too, 
that  the  tax  paid  by  the  country  on  a  single  article  of 
luxury,  exceeds  all  that  Christians  contribute  to 
religious  objects  ;  and  that,  of  that  tax  on  self-indul- 
gence, Christians  pay  a  large  proportion,  despite  the 
cries  of  a  perishing  world.  Now  what  is  all  this  but  a 
want  of  character ;  a  want  of  weight  with  the   world ; 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISR  441 

a  want  of  readiness  to  lake  the  direction  of  its  move- 
ments ;  a  want  of  fitness  to  be  honoured  and  employed 
by  God  in  that  capacity ;  a  want  of  that  which  nothing 
else  could  supply,  but  which  itself  could  supply  the 
want  of  every  thing  else;  for  a  Christian  Church 
thoroughly  imbued  with  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  and  de- 
voted to  the  great  object  of  its  existence  would  find  in 
its  character,  an  amount  of  wealth,  influence,  and 
moral  power,  to  which  the  world  would  render  involun- 
tary homage,  and  which  God  would  crown  with  distin- 
guished success. 

VII.  Connected  with  this  view  is  another  considera- 
tion :  if  the  present  be  an  age  of  transition  and  change,  it 
is,  on  that  very  account,  the  commencement  of  a  new  era ; 
on  us  it  devolves  to  give  the  first  impulse  to  that  era  ;  but 
that  first  impulse  is  likely  to  impart  more  or  less  of  its 
own  character  to  the  whole  era  of  which  it  is  the  com- 
mencement— likely  to  propagate  its  influence  on  to  the 
end  of  time ;  how  unspeakably  important,  then,  that 
the  impulse  should  be  of  the  most  holy,  ardent,  and 
scri|)tural  kind  ;  in  a  word,  that  it  should  be  given  by 
men  living  to  Christ. 

It  is  the  undying,  self-propagating  nature  of  our 
moral  influence,  which  invests  eveiy  thing  we  do  with 
so  much  importance  ;  its  immediate  eflect  may  be 
trivial,  but  who  shall  calculate  consequences  never  end- 
ing, ever  expanding  ?  Christian  parents,  the  scale  on 
which  you  give  is  likely  to  affect  the  liberality  of  your 
children's  children  to  the  remotest  generation.  Chris- 
tians, you  are  living  for  futurity.  The  character  you 
impress  on  the  age  is  not  to  die  with  you — it  is  the 
legacy  you  will  bequeath  to  posterity.  The  influence 
you  are  now  putting  into  circulation  is  not  to  be  limited 
to  the  present ;  it  will  reach  to  those  you  never  saw, 
and  descend  to  other  times.  Churches  of  Christ,  re- 
flect, traces  of  your  character  will  reappear  ages  hence, 
in  the  Churches  of  India  and  Africa,  China  and  Japan — 


442  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

of  shores  yet  undiscovered,  and  nations  yet  unformed. 
You  are  giving  Christianity  to  posterity  :  what  kind  of 
a  Christianity  are  you  giving  it  ?  a  languid,  feeble, 
spiritless  thing,  or  a  system  instinct  with  life  ?  Shall 
it  go  forth  to  the  world,  and  down  to  the  future,  covered 
with  the  honours  and  repeating  the  achievements  of  its 
first  days  ?  or  a  half-hearted,  torpid,  self-indulging  sys- 
tem, living  on  the  world's  sufferance,  and  struggling  on 
for  a  bare  existence  ?  Remote  generations  summon  us 
to  duty  ;  and  adjure  us,  by  the  responsibility  of  our 
present  position — by  the  bright  hopes  we  cherish  of 
millennial  bliss — and  by  the  certainty  that  the  impulse 
we  are  now  giving  to  religion  will  impart  a  character  to 
that  bliss — a  lustre  or  a  shade — that  we  give  them  the 
Christianity  of  Apostolic  times,  fresh  from  the  Cross, 
and  glowing  with  the  fire  of  a  Paul. 

VIII.  But  from  all  this  it  follows  that  nothing  done 
for  Christ  is  lost ;  and  that  as  the  whole,  with  all  its 
immediate  and  remote  results,  will  eventually  form  a 
subject  of  interesting  retrospection,  it  supplies  us  with 
a  powerful  motive  to  present  devotedness.  We  mean 
not  to  intimate  that  the  costliest  service  we  can  render 
has  any  inherent  worth,  or  any  independent  influence, 
to  produce  the  smallest  spiritual  results.  But  we  do 
mean  to  say,  that  nothing  scripturally  done  for  Christ 
is  lost  ;  that  of  every  such  act  he  graciously  takes  the 
charge — appoints  it  a  place  in  his  system  of  means — 
and  causes  it  to  move  in  a  fine  parallel  with  the  great 
laws  of  his  government. 

Say,  what  of  all  the  past  is  lost  ?  the  mites  of  the 
widow  ?  True,  the  gift  in  itself  was  small,  the  act 
trivial ;  but  she  has,  in  high  moral  effect,  been  giving 
them  daily  ever  since.  They  have  multiplied  into  mil- 
lions. Those  mites  have  formed  an  inexhaustible  fund  ; 
and  to  the  end  of  time  will  constitute  for  the  Church  an 
ever-augmenting  treasury  of  wealth.  What  is  lost  ? 
the   labours  of  those  who  first  took  the  Mission  field, 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISR  443 

and  who  have  already  fallen  ?  True,  they  failed  in 
some  of  their  immediate  ends,  and  fell  comparatively 
unwept.  But,  holy,  honoured  men,  your  day  of  moral 
power  is  yet  to  come.  Already,  your  names  are  our 
titles ;  your  memory  is  our  inspiration ;  your  noble 
deeds  are  our  heraldry  ;  your  example,  a  precious  part 
of  our  inheritance.  By  the  perusal  of  your  tale  shall 
many  a  youthful  bosom  swell  with  the  sacred  ambition 
of  living  to  Christ  in  heathen  lands  ;  and,  as  he  hears 
your  name  pronounced  with  benedictions,  or  touches 
the  soil  which  contains  your  hallowed  dust,  or  opens 
the  sacred  page  which  you  first  laboriously  unlocked 
to  wandering  eyes — your  memory  shall  fire  his  zeal, 
and  in  his  labours  shall  you  live  again.  What  is  lost.'* 
the  blood  of  the  martyrs  ?  True,  they  fell.  The  car 
of  the  demon  to  which  they  were  sacrificed,  rolled  over 
them  and  on;  "their  ashes  flew,  no  marble  tells  us 
whither ;"  the  voices  which  bewailed  them  sank  into 
silence  ;  the  tyranny  which  crushed  them  waxed  stronger 
and  stronger ;  and  age  followed  age  apparently  only  to 
blacken  their  names,  or  to  proclaim  that  they  had  lived 
and  died  in  vain.  But  did  they  ?  Let  the  history  of 
Truth  struggling  with  Error  ever  since  testify.  Never 
have  their  sufferings  ceased  to  thrill  the  general  heart. 
Long  have  some  of  their  softest  whispers  at  the  stake, 
been  oracles  to  support  the  suffering,  and  watchwords 
to  animate  the  valiant  for  the  truth. 

And  such  shall  be  your  honoured  destiny,  martyrs  of 
Madagascar !  Precious  were  your  deaths  in  the  eyes 
of  your  Lord.  Precious  in  our  eyes  is  every  drop  of 
your  blood.  And  the  time  shall  come  when  precious 
shall  be  the  spot  where  you  were  speared  in  the  eyes 
of  your  own  people.  At  present  they  deem  you  van- 
quished. But  they  never  fail  who  die  for  Christ.  That 
land  belongs  to  Him.  And,  when  he  assumes  his  right, 
your  woui)ds  shall  plead  for  him  ;  the  spear  that  pierced 
you  shall  blossom  and  bud  ;  your  martyrdom,  subser- 
vient to  a  higher  influence,  shall  give  a  resistless  im- 
pulse to  the  cause  of  truth. 


444  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

That  time  will  come ;  the  time  when  Christ  will  have 
taken,  not  that  island  only,  but  the  earth  for  his  pos- 
session. The  price  has  been  paid — the  transfer  made — 
the  time  for  actual  possession  appointed — the  approach 
of  that  time  divinely  indicated.  Let  us  imagine  that 
future  period  to  have  come.  There  is  Christendom 
purged  of  its  corruptions ;  India  without  its  caste ; 
China  whhout  its  wall  of  selfishness;  Africa  without 
its  chains;  earth  without  its  curse.  All  its  kingdoms 
consolidated  into  one  vast  spiritual  empire,  are  happy 
in  the  reign  of  Christ,  and  prostrate  at  his  feet.  And 
will  it  form  no  part  of  the  employment  of  that  blessed 
tinie,  to  trace  back  that  grand  consummation  to  all  the 
trains  of  instrumentality  which  led  to  it  ?  It  will, 
doubtless,  form  a  part  of  the  occupaiion  of  heaven 
itself.  And  in  the  prosecution  of  that  inquiry,  will 
there  be  one  period  whose  annals  shall  be  referred  to 
with  surpassing  interest  ?  One,  from  which  that  great 
ocean  of  results  will  be  found  to  have  derived  many  of 
its  most  important  springs  and  streams  of  Cliristian 
influence  ?  That  period  will  doubtless  prove  our  own. 
And  will  not  he  be  among  the  happiest  Christians  then 
who  perceives  that,  by  embarking  his  all  in  the  cause  of 
Christ,  he  has  an  ample  revenue  of  glory  to  lay  at  his 
Saviour's  feet  ? 

Young  men,  remember  this.  The  morning  of  your 
life,  and  the  morning  of  a  glorious  day,  are  dawning 
together.  Would  you  inscribe  your  names  on  a  page 
which  shall  be  read  with  interest  by  a  renovated  world  ? 
In  the  great  audit,  would  you  stand  for  more  than  a 
unit  ?  Then  must  you  spring  to  action  at  once.  Delay 
awhile — and,  go  where  you  will,  no  country  will  be  left 
for  you  to  be  ihe  first  to  claim  for  Christ  ;  no  language 
remain  for  you  to  consecrate  hy  first  pronouncing  in  it 
the  name  of  Christ  ;  no  single  tribe  to  whom  you  can 
present  the  first  Bible  !  Plappy  deprivation  !  and  is 
nothing  left — no  lofty  mark  for  Christian  ambition  to 
aim  at  ?      Yes,  the  Church  has  left  you  .  ne,  at  least — 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  445 

and  that  the  loftiest  of  all.  There  is  yet  left  to  you  the 
high  distinction  of  not  living  to  yourselves.  Aim 
at,  and  exhibit  that  distinction  ;  and,  at  the  period  of 
retrospection  of  which  we  speak,  it  shall  be  found  that 
if  others  began  an  era  of  activity,  it  was  yours  to 
eclipse  them  by  commencing  an  era  of  devotedness. 

IX.  But  we  ascend  to  higher  reasons  still.  All 
things  belong  to  Christ  by  original  mediatorial  rights  and 
were  constructed  by  him  expressly  with  a  view  to  subserve 
his  mediatorial pkm.  "  All  things  were  created  by  him, 
and  for  him."  "  He  is  both  the  First  and  the  Last," 
the  efficient  and  the  final  cause  of  all  things.  The 
creation  of  the  universe  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  an 
act  terminating  in  itself ;  or  as  performed  merely  for 
the  purpose  of  exhibiting  as  much  of  the  Divine  glory 
as,  taken  by  itself,  it  was  calculated  to  display.  Nor 
is  the  mediatorial  office  of  Christ  to  be  regarded  as  an 
afterthought — a  supplementary  appointment  in  conse- 
quence of  the  unexpected  derangement  and  failure  of  a 
previous  design.  The  constitution  of  a  Mediator  is  to 
be  viewed  as  having  been  the  primary  step  toward  the 
creation  of  the  universe.  Nor  is  the  introduction  of 
sin  to  be  regarded  as  having  been  originated  or  neces- 
sitated by  this  original  arrangement.  On  the  contrary, 
it  implies  that  the  evil  having  been  infallibly  foreseen, 
the  entire  plan  of  the  Divine  procedure  was  laid  with  a 
view  to  an  adequate  remedy.  Creation  itself,  there- 
fore, w^as  a  mediatorial  act  ;  and  every  thing  made  was 
expressly  intended  to  answer  to  the  great  remedial 
design,  and  was  so  made  as  to  be  best  adapted  for  the 
purpose. 

It  follows,  then,  that  no  part  of  creation  answers  its 
highest  end  until  it  becomes  subservient  to  the  designs 
of  Christ.  Numerous  other  ends  it  may  answer  ;  many 
of  them  may  be  important  ends  ;  and  all  of  them  may 
be  allowable ;  but  failing  of  subserviency  to  the  media- 
torial government  of  Christ,  it  fails  of  the  chief  end 
38 


446  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

for  which  it  was  brought  into  existence.  It  was  not 
till  the  earth  echoed  the  first  promise,  and  became  a 
theatre  for  unfolding  the  scheme  of  mercy  which  that 
promise  enclosed,  that  it  was  promoted  to  the  grand 
office  of  its  creation.  It  was  not  till  the  objects  and 
elements  of  nature  became  recognised  images  and 
emblems  of  that  great  scheme,  that  the  true  reason 
of  their  existence  and  particular  construction  was  made 
known.  The  offices  of  prophet,  priest,  and  king,  of 
father,  husband,  and  friend,  found  not  their  true  dis- 
tinction till  they  became  known  types  of  the  media- 
torial relations  of  Christ.  Till  Christ  assumed  our 
nature,  the  great  reason  for  the  existence  of  humanity 
itself  remained  undeveloped,  and  until  he  died,  the 
temple  of  the  universe  may  be  said  to  have  been  de- 
stitute except  in  the  divine  intention,  of  altar,  sacrifice, 
and  priest.  The  cross,  was  the  true  centre  of  the  world 
made  visible.  And  hereafter  it  will  be  clearly  seen 
that  all  nations,  objects,  and  events,  answered  their  real 
design  only  as  they  revolved  in  subordination  around 
it ;  that  it  never  moved  but  all  things  were  meant  to 
fall  into  its  train  ;  never  stood,  but  all  things  were 
called  to  bow  down  before  it ;  never  spoke,  but  they 
were  all  expected  to  echo  its  voice.  It  will,  as  we  have 
shown,  be  distinctly  seen,  that  wealth  attained  its  true 
destination  only  when  it  fell  into  the  treasury  of  Christ; 
that  speech  realized  its  grand  design  only  when  it 
became  ''  a  means  of  grace;"  that  all  the  relationships 
of  life,  and  all  the  mutual  influences  with  which  those 
relationships  invest  us,  found  their  proper  end  only 
when  they  harmonized  with  the  central  influence 
streaming  from  the  Cross. 

But  what  powerful  m.otives  does  this  view  of  the 
mediatorial  lordship  of  Christ  supply  to  our  entire 
consecration  to  his  service.  For  until  the  great  design 
of  the  office  be  fulfilled  in  the  spiritual  recovery  of  the 
world,  the  unnecessary  diversion  of  a  single  particle  of 
iilfluence  from  his  cause,  is  an  act  of  rebellion  against 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  447 

his  authority.  Had  such  a  diversion  been  the  first  and 
solitary  instance  of  the  kind  ever  known,  it  could  not 
have  occurred  without  exciting  a  burst  of  loyal  indig- 
nation from  every  part  of  the  divine  dominions.  How 
much  greater  the  guilt  then  of  such  an  alienation  now 
when  the  rebellion  is  so  general  that  nearly  "all 
things"  on  earth,  ''created  by  him  and  for  him,"  are 
turned  and  pointed  against  him.  Had  an  angel  been 
sent  down  to  stand  betw^een  us  and  every  such  act,  it 
should  not  have  deterred  us  so  powerfully  as  this  con- 
sideration. Wherever  we  look,  we  may  rest  assured 
that  his  eye  is  resting  at  the  same  moment  on  all 
within  the  circle,  with  a  look  of  sovereign  and  jealous 
appropriation.  On  whatever  we  may  lay  our  hand,  his 
hand  has  been  there  before  us,  and  left  a  sign  which 
marks  it  entirely  for  his  own.  Wherever  we  may  go — 
into  the  bosom  of  the  family — the  place  of  business — 
the  seat  of  power  and  national  government — he  is  there 
before  us  to  assert  his  original  claim,  and  to  impress 
on  every  thing  the  solemn  sentence,  "%  me,  and  for 
me." 

Little,  indeed,  do  the  rulers  of  the  earth  think  of 
any  higher  end  than  that  of  national  prosperity  and 
aggrandizement ;  and  matter  of  high  scorn  would  it  be 
to  them,  to  be  told  that  in  the  true  system  of  things 
they  come  after  the  Christian  Missionary,  and  are  ap- 
pointed to  minister  in  his  train.  Little  do  the  men  of 
science,  commerce,  and  power,  concern  themselves  to 
inquire  why  'ithe  sea  and  the  dry  land"  were  originally 
distributed  into  their  present  geographical  form ;  why 
an  insignificant  island  should  hold  distant  and  populous 
nations  in  dependency ;  and  why  tides  and  oceans  roll 
between.  They  need  to  be  reminded,  however,  that  in 
the  government  of  Christ  there  is  a  reason  for  all  this, 
and  that  that  reason  is  w^orthy  of  him  for  whom  the 
whole  exists ;  that  it  is  something  higher  and  greater 
than  that  of  merely  supplying  their  tables  with  luxu- 
ries, or  even  their  coffers  with  funds.     They  are  to  be 


448  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

told  that,  could  they  be  taken  to  the  summit  of  that 
lofty  reason,  they  would  be  able  to  command  a  view  of 
both  eternities ;  that  on  looking  down  upon  the  move- 
ments of  time,  in  vain  would  they  look  for  the  signs  of 
their  own  existence,  unless  they  are  living  for  Christ ; 
that,  from  that  height,  the  light  of  heaven  falls  on 
nothing  which  is  not  directly  or  indirectly  advancing 
his  great  design ;  that  it  is  reflected  from  the  path  of 
the  Christian  preacher  with  a  strength  which  throws 
the  track  of  an  army  into  the  shade,  and  from  the 
vessel  conveying  a  herald  of  salvation  to  some  heathen 
shore  with  a  lustre,  which  leaves  a  warlike  navy  in- 
volved in  midnight  darkness. 

But  if  all  things  are  for  him,  why  are  they  not  with 
him  ?  Why  will  they  not  find  the  perfection  of  their 
nature,  and  the  reason  of  their  existence,  in  his  service  ? 
It  is  not  that  they  are  not  needed.  So  vast  and  full  of 
grace  is  the  design  of  the  mediatorial  economy,  that  it 
wants  them  all — has  work  for  them  all.  It  cannot  do 
without  them — consistently,  that  is,  with  existing  ap- 
pointments— it  cannot  do  without  them.  They  are  the 
only  instruments  which  it  chooses  to  work  with.  It 
seeks  to  enlist  into  its  service  all  the  relations  which 
bind  us  together ;  and  all  the  natural  means  by  which 
we  influence  each  other.  It  claims  the  infant  heart,  by 
looking  at  it  through  the  eyes,  and  caressing  it  in  the 
tones  of  maternal  love.  The  father's  authority — the 
sister's  entreaty — the  brother's  warning — the  servant's 
fidelity — the  tradesman's  integrity  and  weight  of  cha- 
racter— the  persuasions  of  friendship — the  active  at- 
tention of  neighbourly  kindness — the  disinterested 
benevolence  of  public  life — the  powerful  influence  of 
righteous  government — it  wants  them  all,  has  work  for 
them  all.  And  even  if  it  had  them,  the  kindest  tones 
cannot  equal  the  tenderness  of  its  entreaties ;  the  hot- 
test tears  cannot  express  its  anguish  over  human  misery ; 
the  most  throbbing  heart  cannot  beat  quick  enough  to 
satisfy   its  eager  longing  for  human  salvation;  all  the 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  449 

influence  which  collectiv^e  man  could  wield  in  its  behalf, 
could  not  do  justice  to  its  free,  and  full,  and  gushing 
benevolence — could  not  furnish  channels  wide  and 
deep  enough  to  pour  forth  the  ocean  fulness  of  its 
grace. 

X.  But  the  great  Gospel  argument  for  such  conse- 
cration, is  one  superinduced  on  that  of  the  original  right 
of  Christ,  and  is  known  and  felt  by  the  Christian  alone — 
the  claim  of  redemption.  "What!  know  ye  not,  that 
ye  are  not  your  own  ?  for  ye  are  bought  with  a  price  !" 
The  fact  that  Christ  is  our  Creator  and  Proprietor, 
gives  him,  as  we  have  seen,  a  right  in  us  which  nothing 
can  ever  alienate  ;  but  on  this  right,  original  and  un- 
alienable as  it  is,  he  does  not  often  insist.  The  fact 
that  we  have  ever  been  cared  for  by  his  providence, 
that  we  have  never  been  out  of  the  arms  of  infinite 
tenderness,  gives  him  a  claim  on  us  which  nothing  can 
ever  cancel ;  but  on  this  claim,  strong  and  subduing  as 
it  is,  he  does  not  ordinarily  insist.  He  has  a  claim 
more  powerful  and  affecting  still — the  fact  that  he  has 
bought  us — bought  us  with  a  price  !  He  comparatively 
waives  every  other  ground  of  claim,  and  trusts  to  this 
alone.  He  knows  that  all  other  claims  are  included  in 
it  or  connected  with  it ;  that  this  may  be  felt  after  the 
heart  has  become  insensible  to  every  other  claim ;  that 
it  is  the  last  and  strongest  plea  which  Infinite  Love 
itself  can  employ. 

And  what  a  claim  it  is — the  claim  of  redemption  ! 
Alas,  that  our  familiarity  with  it  should  ever  diminish 
its  freshness  and  force ;  that  we  do  not  always  feel  as  if 
the  price  had  only  just  been  paid — the  mystery  of  the 
Cross  just  transpired  I  To  think  that  there  should 
have  been  a  period  in  our  history  when  we  were  lost ; 
lost  to  ourselves — all  our  capacity  for  enjoyment  being 
turned  by  sin  into  a  felt  capacity  for  suffering  ;  lost  to 
the  design  of  our  creation — all  our  powers  of  serving 
Christ  being  perverted  into  instruments  of  hostility 
38* 


450  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

against  him  ;  lost  to  the  society  of  heaven — the  place 
which  awaited  us  there  to  remain  eternally  vacant ;  the 
part  we  should  have  taken  in  the  chorus  of  the  blessed, 
to  remain  for  ever  unfilled  ;  heaven  itself,  as  far  as  in 
us  lay,  turned  into  a  place  of  mourning  and  desolation  ; 
lost  to  God — to  the  right  of  beholding,  approaching, 
and  adoring  the  vision  of  his  eternal  glory  !  To  think 
that,  in  point  of  law,  we  w^ere  thus  lost  as  truly  as  if 
the  hand  of  justice  had  seized  us,  had  led  us  down  to 
our  place  in  woe,  drawn  on  us  the  bolts  of  the  dreadful 
prison,  and  as  if  years  of  wretchedness  and  ages  of 
darkness  had  rolled  over  us  there.  Well  may  we  ask 
ourselves,  again  and  again,  how  is  it  we  are  here  ?  here 
in  the  blessed  light  of  day  ;  here,  in  the  still  more 
blessed  light  of  God's  countenance  ;  here,  like  children 
sitting  in  their  father's  smiles  ?  Why  is  this  ;  and  how 
has  it  come  to  pass  ?  Has  justice  relaxed  its  demands  ? 
or  have  the  penal  flames  become  extinct  ?  What, 
know  ye  not  that  ye  are  bought  with  a  price  !  It  is 
the  theme  of  the  universe.  Look  on  that  glorious  being 
descending  from  heaven  in  the  form  of  God — know 
ye  not  "  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ" — that 
he  sought  no  resting-place  between  his  throne  and 
the  Cross  ?  Behold  that  Cross ;  know  ye  not  that 
*' he  loved  us  and  gave  himself  for  us  .^"  that  "he 
bare  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree  .^"  Ap- 
proach nearer,  and  look  on  that  streaming  blood ; 
know  ye  not  "  the  precious  blood  of  Christ,"  and  that 
that  blood  is  the  price  of  your  redemption  ?  Hear 
you  not  the  voice  from  heaven  which  now  says,  "  De- 
liver them  from  going  down  to  the  pit,  for  I  have 
found  a  ransom  ?"  Feel  you  not  the  Spirit  of  God 
drawing  you  with  gentle  solicitations  and  gracious  im- 
portunities to  the  feet  of  Christ  ?  See  you  not  that  he 
who  was  delivered  for  your  offences,  hath  been  raised 
again  for  your  justification,  and  is  now  waiting  to 
receive  the  homage  of  your  love  ?  How  much  owest 
thou  unto  thy  Lord  .''     Try  to  compute  it.     He   asks 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  451 

only  his  due.  So  that  if  there  be  any  part  of  your 
nature  which  he  has  not  redeemed,  or  any  thing  in 
your  possession  for  which  you  are  not  indebted  to  him, 
keep  it  back,  and  apply  it  to  some  other  purpose. 
But  does  not  the  bare  suggestion  do  violence  to  your 
new  nature  ?  does  not  every  part  of  that  nature  resent 
the  very  idea,  and  find  a  voice  to  exclaim,  "  O  Lord, 
I  am  thy  servant,  I  am  thy  servant,  thou  hast  loosed  my 
bonds  ?" 

And  while  standing  in  the  presence  of  this  match- 
less display  of  grace,  and  subdued  by  its  influence, 
does  the  eager  inquiry  spring  to  your  lips,  "  Lord, 
what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?"  Do  ?  what  can  you 
do  but  make  known  that  grace  to  others  ?  what  can 
you  do  but  let  the  stream  of  gratitude  which  his  great 
love  has  drawn  from  your  heart,  pour  itself  forth  into 
that  channel  in  which  a  tide  of  mercy  is  rolling  through 
the  world,  and  bearing  blessings  to  the  nations  ?  What 
did  the  apostles  do  under  similar  circumstances  ?  So 
powerfully  were  they  constrained  by  the  love  of  Christ, 
that  they  thus  judged  that  instead  of  living  as  if  they 
were  under  little  or  no  obligation  to  him,  they  should 
henceforth  act  as  if  the  duty  of  living  to  him  were  the 
only  obligation  they  were  under ;  and  that  the  best 
way  of  doing  that  would  be  by  conveying  the  know- 
ledge of  his  redemption  to  others,  and  thus  working 
out  the  grand  purposes  of  his  atoning  death.  What 
can  you  do,  but  let  your  love  to  Christ  take  the  same 
form  as  his  love  to  you  ?  and  what  was  that  but  com- 
passion for  the  guilty,  and  active,  devoted,  unsparing 
efforts  to  save  the  perishing  ?  He,  indeed,  could  save 
and  did  save,  in  a  way  in  which  he  can  never  be  copied  ; 
but  so  much  the  greater  our  obligation  to  imitate  him 
where  imitation  is  possible ;  especially  too  as  the  only 
walk  of  benevolence  which  his  all-performing  compas- 
sion has  left  open  to  us,  is  that  which  leads  from  his 
Cross  to  the  sinner ;  and  the  only  labour  left  us,  that  of 
endeavouring  to  draw  all  men  unto  him. 


452  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECKATION 

XI.  And  this  reminds  us  that  not  only  are  we  his  by 
original  right,  and  his  by  redemption,  but  that  the  great 
object  for  ivhich^  relatively^  he  has  brought  us  under 
such  obligations,  and  for  lohich  he  has  in  addition 
formed  us  into  a  Church,  is  that  he  might  engage  and 
engross  our  instrumentality  for  the  salvation  of  others. 
If  "he  gave  himself  for  us,"  it  was  "that  he  might 
purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people  zealous  of  good 
works."  If  we  are  "created  in  Christ  Jesus,"  we  are 
created  "unto  good  works."  "What!  know  ye  not 
that  your  body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which 
is  in  you,  which  ye  have  of  God,  and  ye  are  not  your 
own  .'*  for  ye  are  bought  with  a  price  ;  therefore,  glorify 
God  in  your  body  and  in  your  spirit,  which  are  his." 
What !  can  you  have  allowed  an  analogy  so  obvious  as 
that  which  exists  between  a  temple  and  a  believer,  to 
escape  your  notice  ?  Angels  mark  it ;  and  that  is  one 
reason  why  they  rejoice  over  the  sinner  when  he  re- 
pents ;  they  know  that  God  is  consecrating  another 
living  temple,  is  advancing  another  step  towards  the 
completion  of  that  universal  temple  destined  to  resound 
through  eternity  with  the  echoes  of  his  praise.  God 
himself  designs  it ;  designs,  that  the  consecrated  cha- 
racter of  the  temple  on  Zion  shall  be  copied  and  re- 
peated in  the  devoted  character  of  every  living  temple. 

If  then,  we  would  see  the  pattern  of  our  Christian 
devotedness,  let  us  go,  in  imagination,  and  survey  the 
temple  and  its  service.  Are  we  not  conscious  of  a  holy 
awe  stealing  over  our  minds  as  we  approach  it  ?  Such 
should  be  the  feeling  which  the  presence  of  the  Chris- 
tian inspires — that  he  is  a  man  set  apart  for  God.  Let 
us  enter  the  sacred  precincts,  cross  the  threshold,  and 
look  around — all  its  priests  are  the  annointed  servants  of 
God — all  its  vessels  holiness  to  the  Lord — all  its  parts 
sprinkled  with  blood.  Can  we  imagine  any  thing  which 
we  see  in  it,  taken  and  applied  to  any  other  than 
temple  purposes,  without  a  sense  of  profanation?  that 
priest,  for  instance,  just  offering  the  victim,   polluted 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  453 

with  licentiousness  ?  that  sacred  vessel,  taken  away  and 
turned  into  a  cup  of  intenaperance  ?  that  altar,  trans- 
ferred for  a  time  to  the  temple  of  Moloch  ?  or  the 
temple  itself,  lent,  during  the  interval  of  God's  worship, 
to  celebrate  the  orgies  of  some  idol  god  ?  The  very 
thought  seems  profanation,  blasphemy  !  and  why,  but 
because  we  feel  that  the  place  is  sacred  to  God  through- 
out, and  should  be  entirely  and  exclusively  devoted  to 
his  service  ?  Well,  know  ye  not  that  the  Christian  is 
now  the  temple  of  God  ?  and  that  he  has  claims  on  our 
devotedness  which  he  could  never  have  on  a  material 
temple — the  claim  that  every  thing  we  are  and  have 
belongs  by  purchase  to  the  God  of  the  temple  ?  and 
that,  by  voluntarily  and  cordially  devoting  the  whole  to 
him,  he  counts  himself  glorified  ?  ''  Thou  that  ab- 
horrest  idols  dost  thou  commit  sacrilege  ?" 

And  not  only  every  individual  believer,  but  every 
particular  Church,  is  a  living  temple.  Its  members, 
"  as  living  stones,  are  built  up  a  spiritual  house,  a  holy 
priesthood,  to  offer  up  spiritual  sacrifices,  acceptable  to 
God  by  Jesus  Christ."  And  may  we  not  suppose, 
must  we  not  believe,  that  as  often  as  we  meet  in  this 
capacity  the  Lord  of  the  temple  himself  comes  amongst 
us  .''  Must  we  not  conclude,  that  as  he  walks  in  the 
midst  of  the  churches,  marking  the  character  of  their 
services  and  the  degree  of  their  devotedness,  his  eyes 
are  as  a  flame  of  fire  ?  Is  the  particular  church,  then, 
to  which  we  belong  prepared  for  the  searching  inspec- 
tion ?  Does  he  find  our  knowledge  of  his  salvation — 
the  first  Christian  talent  with  which  he  intrusts  us — 
kept,  hke  a  vessel  of  the  sanctuary,  bright  and  bur- 
nished, by  constant  use  ?  Our  speech — do  "  the  lips 
of  the  priest  keep  knowledge,"  and  the  people  "order 
their  conversation  aright  ?"  Are  our  tongues  like  living 
censers  for  offering  up  the  incense  of  praise  .''  The 
influence  arising  from  our  relationship — are  we  employ- 
ing it  as  a  golden  cord  for  drawing  others  with  us  into 
the  Divine  presence  ^    Does  he  find  none  of  his  pro- 


454  MOTrvT:s  to  entire  consecration 

perty  abstracted  from  the  treasury,  and  lavished  on 
worldly  objects  ?  or  it  is  all  ready  to  meet  his  claims  ? 
Is  self-denial  among  us,  bearing  its  cross,  and  presenting 
its  precious  oblations  ?  And  Christian  activity  and 
zeal,  flaming  like  an  altar  of  sacrifice,  and  ready  to  say, 
'^  the  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  consumed  me  ?"  and 
prayer,  interceding  for  the  world  ;  wrestling  with  God 
for  a  universal  blessing  ?  Souls  are  perishing — souls 
have  been  perishing  during  the  whole  time  of  our  con- 
nexion with  the  Church,  and  that  Church  has  been 
appointed  instrumentally  to  save  them  ;  amidst  the  wide 
wasting  ruin  of  immortal  spirits  perpetually  going  on 
around  us,  have  we,  by  prayers,  by  entreaties,  by  the 
Spirit  of  God-  saved  one  ?  We  stand  related  to  the 
whole  Church — to  the  entire  world — and  the  present  is 
a  time  in  which  that  relation  is  daily  becoming  more 
visible,  and  entailing  increased  responsiblity.  Louder 
voices,  and  loftier  claims,  are  summoning  us  to  action, 
than  any  which  the  churches  of  former  times  have  ever 
heard.  Do  we  mark  the  Divine  indications  in  this 
respect ;  and  sympathize  with  the  cries  of  the  world  ; 
and  with  the  office  of  the  Church,  as  a  great  Missionary 
Society,  to  answer  those  cries  ?  Are  we  exciting  each 
other  to  come  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  ;  and  aspiring  to 
lead  the  van  of  the  Christian  enterprise  ?  Is  the  influ- 
ence of  our  Christian  activity  made  to  be  felt  around  ? 
are  other  churches  glorifying  God  in  us  ?  has  the  world 
reason  to  bless  God  for  our  existence  ? 

But,  if  each  particular  church,  still  more  is  the 
Church  universal  to  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  a  temple 
devoted  to  the  service  of  Christ.  Shall  the  Lord  of 
the  temple  claim  its  entire  consecration  in  person  ? 
Why  may  we  not  suppose  him  to  descend,  and  appear 
in  the  midst  of  his  people,  to  enforce  the  claim  ?  But 
how  should  we  prepare  for  his  reception  ?  and  what 
will  he  expect  at  our  hands  ?  "  Blow  ye  the  trumpet ; 
sanctify  a  fast  ;  call  a  solemn  assembly."  Every  Chris- 
tian of  every  denomination,  ''holding  the  head,"  should 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  455 

be  summoned — for  the  occasion  equally  concerns  us  all. 
All  we  have  must  be  brought  into  his  presence — our 
children  must  be  sent  for,  our  property,  our  means  of 
every  description — whatever  can  be  employed  in  his 
service.  Nothing  must  be  forgotten — nothing  kept 
back.  Thus  prepared  for  his  arrival,  behold  him  come  ! 
him — the  victim  of  Calvary — the  Head  of  the  Church — 
the  Saviour  of  the  world — clothed,  as  when  John  beheld 
him,  in  priestly  attire ;  and,  in  his  countenance,  majesty 
blended  with  tenderness  and  rebuke.  Looking  around 
on  the  hushed  and  breathless  assembly,  he  may  be  sup- 
posed to  say,  in  accents  which  thrill  through  every 
soul,  "Ye  are  not  your  own,  ye  are  bought  with  a 
price.  Your  bodies,  your  spirits,  your  children,  your 
property,  your  churches — all  these  are  mine.  For  this 
cause,  I  died  and  rose  again,  that  I  might  be  Lord  of 
the  whole.  I  come  to  claim  it.  If  you  can  name  any 
faculty  of  your  nature  which  I  have  not  ransomed ; 
any  moment  of  your  time  which  I  do  not  confer ;  any 
thing  here  in  your  possession  which  might  not  be 
employed  in  my  service,  it  is  yours  to  use  at  pleasure. 
Recall  the  past ;  if  you  can  name  any  effort,  however 
feeble,  made  in  harmony  with  my  will,  but  made  in 
vain,  with  such  eflbrts  I  dispense.  Survey  the  world  ! 
if  you  can  point  to  a  spot  where  the  destroyer  of  souls 
is  not  working  the  great  system  of  destruction,  that 
spot  I  allow  you  to  pass  by.  Call  for  your  race ;  let 
them  pass  before  you  in  their  nations  and  tribes ;  if  you 
can  point  out  one  soul  which  is  not  in  danger  of  per- 
dition ;  one  which  my  blood  cannot  cleanse  ;  one  which 
does  not  belong  to  me — him  I  allow  you  to  neglect. 
Hearken,  and  you  may  hear  the  loud  and  piercing  cry  of 
souls  perishing  ;  if  you  can  ever  listen  attentively  without 
hearing  it ;  if  you  can  discover  a  pause  in  that  fearful 
cry  even  for  a  moment,  during  that  moment  I  allow  you 
to  relax.  But  no,  it  is  incessant ;  how  long  shall  it 
continue  ?  Shall  not  India  have  a  Cross  .''  Shall  not 
Africa  have  a  Gospel  ?  the  world  their  Saviour  ?    True, 


456  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

you  have  begun  to  lift  the  Cross  before  the  eyes  of  the 
nations  ;  and  wherever  you  have  done  so,  angels  have 
had  to  celebrate  its  triumphs.  But  your  talents  unem- 
ployed, your  resources  unexplored,  your  opportunities 
unimproved,  evince  how  small  the  sympathy  you  have 
hitherto  felt  with  it.  Lift  it  higher,  that  more  may  see 
it ;  and  higher  still,  that  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  may 
behold  it.  I  died  for  the  world.  Go,  and  proclaim  it 
to  every  creature.  The  resources  necessary  are  in  your 
possession.  I  see  them  around  me;  and  I  accept  the 
surrender.  For  this  alone  have  I  waited.  All  things 
now  are  ready.  The  fulness  of  time  for  the  world's 
recovery  has  at  length  arrived.  Nothing  shall  now 
delay  the  great  consummation.  The  sabbath  of  time 
has  come — the  jubilee  of  the  world.  I  hear  its  gather- 
ing sounds  of  joy.  I  see  its  myriads  flocking — all  flesh 
coming  to  pray  before  the  Lord — my  righteousness  their 
only  robe,  my  name  their  only  plea.  My  people,  my 
own,  my  blood-bought  Church,  if  ye  know  the  grace 
of  your  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  if  his  love  can  move  your 
hearts,  if  his  glory  be  dear  in  your  eyes,  be  faithful  to 
your  trust ;  unite  your  resources  ;  devote  your  energies  ; 
live  for  me.  God  himself  from  his  throne  shall  rejoice 
over  you,  the  eternal  Spirit  shall  give  efiicacy  to  your 
every  act ;  and  then,  soon  shall  you  see  a  converted 
world,  and  I  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  my  soul  and  be 
satisfied.  While  earth  with  all  her  tongues,  and 
heaven  with  all  her  harps,  shall  together  roll  the  tri- 
umphant song,  "Alleluia,  the  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth." 

But  this  is  the  identical  strain  in  which  our  Lord 
is  to  be  regarded  as  constantly  addressing  us.  In  what 
other  terms  can  we  reply  but  by  saying.  Blessed  Saviour 
we  are  here  before  thee ;  we  are  thine.  Do  with  us 
as  seemeth  good  in  thy  sight.  Only  forgive  the  past. 
Breathe  on  us  thine  own  Holy  Spirit.  Accept  now  our 
entire  dedication;  and,  henceforth,  by  thy  grace,  we 
will  live  to  reclaim  the  world  which  thou  hast  died 
to  redeem. 


TO  THE   MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  457 

XII.  Only  let  these  sentiments  of  devotedness  be 
embodied  by  the  Christian  Church,  and  the  honour  and 
triumph  of  the  Gospel  ivill  be  complete.  And  never  till 
then,  will  even  the  evidences  of  Christianity  be  complete. 
The  logical  argument  for  its  truth,  indeed,  is  perfect ;  no 
chain  of  reasoning  can  be  more  entire.  But  were  its 
miracles  to  be  all  repeated  again,  and  its  prophecies  to 
be  multiplied  a  hundred-fold,  some  signal  display  of  the 
power  and  excellence  of  its  motives  would  still  be 
wanting  as  the  practical  result  of  the  whole.  That 
signal  proof  is  simply  Christian  consistency — the  con- 
sistency of  a  devoted  Church.  In  lieu  of  this,  the 
world  will  accept  nothing — not  even  the  most  con- 
vincing arguments  and  cogent  appeals;  ''give  us,"  they 
say,  "a  practical  proof  that  you  yourselves  believe  and 
are  in  earnest."  Christ  will  accept  nothing — not  even 
the  loudest  professions  ;  "  if  ye  love  me,"  sailh  he, 
"keep  my  commandments:"  we  ourselves  can  accept 
nothing — not  even  the  activity  of  the  Missionary  enter- 
prise— our  consciences  testify  against  us,  and  say,  "all 
this  activity  is  far  less  than  you  can  do  ;  and  you  are 
pledged  to  do  all  that  is  possible  for  the  recovery  of  the 
world.  But  where  is  your  self-denial  }  As  yet,  you 
have  given  only  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  your  table  ; 
where  is  your  consecration  ?  At  present  you  act  only 
from  occasional  impulse,  or  compunction,  or  the  lowest 
degree  of  principle  ;  where  is  the  weight  of  your 
character  ?  Not  merely  is  it  wanting — well  would  it 
be  if  this  were  all — but  it  is  against  you  ;  in  exact 
proportion  as  it  is  absent  from  the  cause  of  Christ,  it  is 
present  to  assist  and  promote  the  cause  of  his  foes — to 
prolong  the  ruin  of  immortal  souls.  Until  this  evil  be 
remedied,  therefore,  expect  to  be  kept  low,  humbled 
and  disgraced  before  the  world  ;  to  be  strangers  to 
every  thing  like  pentecostal  visitations  from  on  high ; 
to  be  fearful,  uncertain,  and  unhappy  in  yourselves. 
But  only  remi':^dy  the  evil — only  be  consistent — and  then 
"arise  and  shine,  for  thy  light  will  have  come,  and  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  will  have  arisen  upon  thee." 
39 


458  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

What  could  stand  before  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  were 
all  the  spirituality  of  its  doctrines,  the  holiness  of  its 
precepts,  and  the  earnest  and  compassionate  benevolence 
of  its  aims,  embodied  and  made  visible  in  the  living 
character  of  its  disciples  ?  Who  could  doubt  the  reality 
of  its  miracles,  when  the  Church  was  seen  standing 
upon  them,  so  to  speak,  as  on  the  mount  of  God, 
herself  the  crowning  miracle — the  great  moral  miracle 
of  a  vast  community  living,  not  unto  themselves,  but 
unto  him  that  died  for  them,  and  rose  again  ?  Who 
could  question  the  truth  of  prophecy,  when  the  fulfil- 
ment of  a  thousand  prophecies  was  realized  in  that 
sublime  spectacle  itself;  when  the  Church  herself  be- 
came a  standing  prophecy  ;  her  every  act  a  presage 
of  success  ;  her  every  conflict,  a  prediction  of  victory  ; 
her  consecrated  character,  as  the  representative  of  her 
Lord's  character,  prophesying  to  the  world,  in  mute 
but  mighty  eloquence,  that  to  him  every  knee  must 
bow  ?  Who  could  doubt  the  reality,  the  superiority, 
the  divinity  of  the  Gospel,  when  it  had  thus  transferred 
the  whole  might  of  its  own  character  to  the  character 
of  the  Church  ?  We  ourselves  could  not — though  now, 
as  the  necessary  result  of  our  superficial  acquaintance 
with  that  power,  we  often  do — but  then,  in  the  large- 
ness of  its  views  we  should  acquire  such  an  expansion 
of  soul,  and  in  the  execution  of  its  lofty  purpose,  such 
a  sympathy  with  true  greatness,  as  would  make  the 
weak  like  David,  and  David  like  an  angel  of  the  Lord. 
The  world  around  us  could  not ;  as  in  primitive  times, 
"fear  would  come  upon  every  soul;"  God  would  give 
us  "favour  with  all  the  people,"  and  would  add  "to 
the  Church  daily  such  as  should  be  saved."  Nor  could 
the  heathen  themselves ;  their  great  argument  against 
Christianity  would  be  gone ;  the  main  objection  with 
which  our  comparative  apathy  arms  them,  would,  by 
the  very  change  of  our  conduct,  be  converted  into  an 
irresistible  plea  in  its  behalf. 

Who,  that  is  acquainted  with  history,  does  not  know 
the   powerful   influence   of    superior   character  ?     The 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  459 

world  has  nothing  to  compare  with  it.  Laws,  armies, 
revolutions,  are  only  its  creatures,  or  visible  expressions. 
What  deep  homage  the  world  has  often  paid  to  it ! 
Royalty  has  trembled  before  it,  till  throne  and  sceptre 
shook.  A  nation,  in  the  crisis  of  its  existence,  has 
passed  by  the  palace,  and  gone  in  full  confidence  of  aid 
to  the  cottage — the  aid  of  character.  An  army  in  its 
peril  has  sued  to  it,  as  in  the  instance  of  Swartz,  and 
been  saved  by  it.  The  history  of  Christian  Missions 
proves  that  whole  tribes  of  heathen  have  been  moved 
and  subdued  by  it,  even  when  years  of  preaching  had 
apparently  failed.  And  often  has  a  corrupt  Church 
owed  its  toleration  and  continuance  to  the  profound 
respect  which  the  world  felt  for  the  character  of  a  few 
of  its  members.  But  in  all  these  instances,  be  it  re- 
marked, the  character  which  has  exercised  the  greatest 
influence  is  that  which  approached  nearest  to  a  union 
of  integrity  and  disinterestedness — in  other  words,  a 
character  formed  of  holy  benevolence.  Now  what  is 
this  but  the  identical  character  which  the  Gospel  con- 
centrates all  its  power  to  produce  ?  What  was  the 
character  of  Paul  but  this  ;  and  what  could  wealth,  rank, 
the  world,  have  added  to  his  influence  for  good  ?  His 
disinterested,  self-denying  devotedness  to  the  service  of 
Christ,  armed  him  with  a  power  which  will  continue 
to  be  felt  to  the  end  of  time,  and  which  will  probably 
be  felt  incomparably  more  then  than  now.  But  if  the 
character  of  a  single  Christian  can  exercise  such  a 
sway,  what  would  be  the  influence  of  a  society  of  such 
men  .''  Not  living  to  themselves  ;  not  meeting  for  pur- 
poses of  gain,  but  freely  sacrificing  it  all ;  not  prosecut- 
ing the  Christian  cause  slowly  and  timidly,  but  from 
enlightened  conviction,  precipitating  themselves  into  it; 
abandoning  themselves  to  it ;  showing  themselves  ready 
to  sacrifice  life  for  it !  And  if  the  influence  of  a  single 
society  of  such  men  would  be  great,  who  can  calculate 
the  results  which  would  ensue,  were  such  the  character 
of  the  entire  Church  ^  Were  all  the  influences  of  which 
we  spoke  in  the  opening  chapter — the  influences  arising 


460  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

from  knowledge,  speech,  relationships,  property,  com- 
passion, self-denial,  perseverance,  union,  prayer — were 
all  these  developed  in  the  Church  to  their  utmost,  and 
placed  under  holy  principle,  so  as  to  become  the  sacred 
influence  of  Christian  character,  what  a  halo  of  glory 
would  be  shed  over  the  whole  of  its  earthly  course  ! 
Were  our  conscientiousness  in  the  service  of  Christ, 
such,  that  we  welcomed  every  duty  however  trying  ; 
and  such  our  courage  in  his  cause,  that  we  shrank  from 
no  danger ;  and  such  our  sympathy  with  the  travail  of 
his  soul,  that  our  toils  and  travail  for  the  same  object 
knew  no  hmits — what  a  kind  of  emblazonment  would 
be  thrown  over  the  very  name  of  Christianity  !  If  we 
had  simply  acquired  the  character  of  not  living  to  our- 
selves ;  of  sincerely  commiserating  the  miseries  of  the 
world,  and  of  practically  devoting  ourselves  to  their 
removal — how  impossible  it  would  be  to  pronounce  that 
name,  without  calling  up  in  the  heart  feelings  of 
homage  and  love  !  The  character  of  the  Church  would 
give  it  the  mastery  of  the  world,  and  invest  it  with 
glory  in  the  eyes  of  God;  "and  upon  all  the  glory 
there  should  be  a  defence." 

Now  what  was  the  character  of  Christ  but  this  ? 
And  what  is  our  character  to  be  but  a  copy  of  his  ? 
As  his  representatives,  Christianity  is  to  possess  us,  to 
live  over  again  the  life  of  Christ  in  us — speaking  through 
us,  breathing  in  us,  acting  by  us.  And  it  is  this 
identity  of  character  with  the  character  of  Christ  which 
is  to  invest  our  every  movement  with  so  much  influence. 
It  is  not  to  arise,  as  we  have  intimated  already,  from 
the  increase  of  property  and  resources  which  such  a  self- 
denying  character  would  necessarily  place  at  our  dis- 
posal— though  that  is  to  be  taken  into  the  account — 
but  from  its  placing  our  character  in  harmony  with 
perfection.  The  influence  of  Christ  himself  arises  from 
his  having  placed  himself,  in  an  infinitely  higher  sense, 
indeed,  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  will  and  character 
of  the  Father.  Sin  had  introduced  apparent  disorder 
into  the  Divine  government,   arraying  law  against  law, 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  461 

and  justice  against  mercy.  Every  principle  of  that 
government — every  law  in  the  universe — was  calling, 
crying,  for  vindication  in  the  punishment  of  man  ;  while 
love  in  apparent  opposition  to  them  all,  was  calling  for 
his  dehverance.  Christ  met  them  all  with  the  Cross  ; 
appeased  them  all,  harmonized  them  all,  and  set  them 
all  again  at  liberty.  His  Cross  owes  its  influence  en- 
tirely to  the  fact  that  he  thus  placed  it,  as  the  means 
of  atonement,  in  harmony  with  all  the  great  laws  of  the 
Divine  government.  By  abandoning  himself  entirely 
to  these,  he  moved  the  universe.  All  moving  powers, 
all  spiritual  influences,  the  Holy  Spirit  himself,  has 
thus  become  his. 

And  as  he  acquired  his  infinite  influence  in  the  media- 
torial government  by  placing  himself,  as  the  great  sacri- 
fice for  sin,  entirely  at  the  Divine  disposal,  and  by  iden- 
tifying himself  with  the  cause  of  holiness  and  mercy,  the 
subordinate  influence  of  our  character  is  to  arise  entirely 
from  our  identity  with  his.  By  moving  only  in  a  line 
with  him,  taking  law  from  no  lips  but  his,  copying  no 
example  but  his  life,  and  living  instrumentally  for  no 
end  but  that  for  which  he  efficaciously  died,  our  charac- 
ter would  be  in  effect  the  prolongation  of  his  own,  and 
our  influence  his  influence.  The  world  could  not  doubt 
our  identity  with  Christ ;  for  they  could  not  hear  us 
speak,  in  our  Christian  capacity,  but  they  would  hear 
the  compassionate  voice  of  Christ ;  nor  could  they  look 
on  our  conduct  without  being  reminded  of  his  example. 
They  could  not  doubt  of  the  power  of  Christian  principle  ; 
for  they  would  see  that  it  secured  the  self-denying  energy 
of  the  whole  man,  the  whole  Church.  They  could  not 
question  the  distinctiveness  of  the  Christian  character; 
they  would  feel  that  the  world  had  nothing  like  it  ;  that  the 
entire  Church  was  an  organization  as  distinct  from  every 
other  society  as  if  it  had  come  down  direct  from  heaven  ; 
and  yet  that  it  stood  apart  from  the  world  and  above  it, 
only  that  it  might  draw  them  more  effectually  to  Christ. 
They  could  not  doubt  our  belief  of  their  danger,  or  the 
depth  of  our  concern  for  their  deliverance,  for  they  would 
39* 


462  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

see  it  in  the  unremitting  earnestness  of  our  efforts  to  save 
them.  Nor  could  they  doubt  any  longer  the  power  of 
the  Gospel  to  transform  the  world ;  for  every  day  would 
bring  them  the  report  of  fresh  accessions  made  to  the 
kingdom  of  Christ.  Only  let  the  Church  be  itself;  only 
let  it  become  the  devoted  agency  which  it  was  meant  to 
be ;  and  the  world  should  soon  be  given  into  its  hands. 
Who  could  see  it  move  in  its  Missionary  path  without 
being  ready  to  precede  it  as  its  eager  herald,  shouting, 
''  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord  ?"  for  Christ  himself 
would  be  with  it.  Who  could  look  down  on  the  idola- 
trous regions  which  lay  in  its  route  without  summoning 
them  to  surrender  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  feel- 
ing the  certainty  of  their  speedy  subjection  to  Christ  .'* 
Who  could  look  into  the  roll  of  prophecy  without  the 
full  conviction  that  all  those  predictions  which  paint 
the  universality  and  glory  of  Messiah's  reign  had 
reached  the  eve  of  their  fulfilment .''  The  honour  and 
triumph  of  the  Gospel  would  be  completed. 

XIIL  Our  regard  for  the  glory  of  God  requires  this 
consecration.  This  motive  alone  should  be  sufficient  to 
engage  the  entire  Church  in  one  unsparing  effort  for  the 
world's  conversion.  Darkness  still  covers  the  earth. 
Satan  is  still  the  god  of  this  world.  Idolatry  continues  lo 
defy  the  heavens.  Alas  !  what  a  debased  and  maddened 
world  turns  round  to  the  eye  of  God.  What  shouts  of 
hostility  arise  from  it !  What  spectacles  of  shame, 
what  enormities  of  guilt,  are  exhibited  upon  it !  Now 
can  we  remember  whose  character  it  is  which  is  most 
insulted  by  this  fearful  state  of  things,  and  whose  in- 
terest it  is  which  is  most  wronged,  without  feeling 
"grieved  at  heart  .^"  Can  we  imagine  him  "looking 
down  from  heaven,"  as  of  old,  "upon  the  children  of 
men,  to  see  if  there  are  any  that  understand  and  seek 
after  him,"  and  then  picture  to  our  minds  the  scenes 
which  present  themselves  to  his  holy  eye — the  poly- 
theism and  practical  atheism,  the  sottish  ignorance,  the 
horrid  rites  and  ceremonies,  the  depraved  passions,  un- 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  463 

natural  cruelties,  and  revolting  immoralities — without 
feeling  a  holy  zeal  for  God  kindling  within  us  ?  Can  we 
imagine  him  listening  to  the  sounds  at  this  moment 
ascending  from  the  vast  regions  of  Asia,  and  think  of 
'Mhe  lords  many  and  gods  many"  whose  names  he 
hears  invoked,  while  his  own  is  comparatively  unpro- 
nounced,  without  feeling  even  an  anguish  of  concern 
for  the  vindication  of  his  righteous  claims  ?  Can  we 
remember  that  the  Being  who  is  thus  robbed  of  the 
homage  of  his  creatures  is  ''God  over  all  blessed  for 
ever  ?"  and  that  the  being  who  appropriates  that  homage 
is  the  enemy  of  God,  and  the  destroyer  of  souls,  without 
feeling  ''very  jealous  for  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  ?"  Or 
can  we  remember,  that  while  much  of  the  great  array  of 
evil  of  which  this  world  Is  the  scene,  is  maintained  in 
open  defiance  of  his  reign,  as  if  he  were  the  Tyrant  in- 
stead of  the  God  of  the  universe,  many  of  the  prevailing 
atrocities  are  perpetrated  in  his  name,  and  as  acceptable 
homage  to  his  throne,  as  if  he  were  the  great  Patron  of 
iniquity — can  we  think  of  this  without  lifting  up  our  eyes 
to  heaven,  as  Jesus  did,  and  exclaiming,  "  O  righteous 
Father,  the  world  hath  not  known  thee  !" 

But  might  they  not  have  known  him  ?  And,  if  so, 
must  not  the  guilt  of  their  ignorance  at  present,  rest  on 
those  who  might  have  made  him  known  ?  And  can  we 
remember  what  it  is  that  we  have  to  make  known  con- 
cerning him,  without  feeling  that  every  moment  during 
which  we  continue  to  withhold  the  Gospel  from  the 
nations  we  are  virtually  withholding  from  God  his  highest 
glory  ;  that  we  are  concealing  from  them  a  scheme  of 
mercy  from  which  he  is  expecting  to  derive  his  richest 
revenue  of  praise  for  ever  ?  The  knowledge  of  the  arts, 
the  discoveries  of  science,  the  treasures  of  philosophy — 
all  these  might  be  kept  from  them  with  comparative  im- 
punity ;  but  that  we  should  keep  back  from  them,  age 
after  age,  knowledge  so  important  that  prophets  have 
been  sent  to  impart  it,  angels  have  been  the  bearers 
of  it,  the  Spirit  himself  has  uttered  it,  till,  in  these  last 
days  God  has  actually  spoken  to  us  by  his  Son  ;  know- 


464  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECfiATlON 

ledge  which  so  deeply  concerns  his  own  character,  that 
it  cannot  be  withheld  without  the  most  fatal  results, 
nor  imparted  without  reflecting  on  his  name  eternal 
glory, — this  should  surely  cover  us  with  shame  as  it  does 
with  guilt.  What,  if  no  news  had  come  from  heaven 
since  the  voice  of  inspiration  died  for  a  time  on  the  lips 
of  Malachi  ;  what,  if  no  voice  had  ever  cried  in  the 
wilderness,  "  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord  ;"andno 
intimation  been  afforded  that  "  God  is  love" — what  at 
this  moment  would  have  been  the  state  of  the  world  but 
that  of  universal  gloom  and  desolation  ?  its  only  light 
streaming  from  the  fires  of  demon  worship,  its  only 
sounds  yells  of  defiance  against  Heaven  ?  Yet,  such,  in 
effect,  is  the  lamentable  condition  in  which  we  are 
voluntarily  allowing  large  portions  of  the  earth  to  lie. 
As  if  God  had  never  spoken  to  us^  we  have  never  spoken 
to  them.  As  if  he  were  the  cruel  Moloch  they  suppose 
him  to  be,  we  have  never  told  them  the  glorious  fact  that 
He  is  love — that  he  hath  "  so  loved  the  world  as  to  give 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  As  if  he 
were  quite  as  much  in  love  with  obscenity,  revenge,  and 
blood  as  they  choose  to  believe  him,  we  have  not  chosen 
to  warn  them  to  the  contrary.  As  if  he  had  taken  no 
steps  whatever  to  correct  the  fatal  error,  had  evinced  no 
concern  at  the  stain  which  thus  blots  out  his  glory — 
though  in  every  age  and  through  every  moment  of  the 
time  that  he  has  been  suffering  the  foul  and  enormous 
wrong,  he  has  been  reminding  us  that  he  is  filled  with 
jealousy  for  his  name's  sake,  and  urging  us  to  preach 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature  as  the  only  way  of  putting 
an  end  to  the  great  lie  which  is  every  where  told  and 
believed  against  him,  we  have  taken  no  steps  to  vindi- 
cate his  blessed  name.  And  the  consequence  is,  that  the 
glory  of  the  incorruptible  God  is  still  represented  by  the 
most  degraded  and  loathsome  forms,  and  "  the  truth  of 
God  is  changed  into  a  lie."  And  yet  we  profess  to  feel 
for  the  dishonour  put  on  him  !  Where,  considering  our 
means^ — where  is  our  consistency  ? 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTEPvPRIS-E.  465 

But  grievous  as  this  dishonour  is  when  considered 
simply  by  itself,  there  is  a  consideration  which,  in  the 
eye  of  God,  aggravates  it  without  naeasure — the  fact  that 
it  should  be  inflicted  on  him  at  the  expense  of  his  only 
begotten  and  well  beloved  Son.  To  have  kept  back  the 
disclosures  concerning  himself  made  by  his  mere  human 
messengers,  would  have  been  highly  dishonouring  to 
God ;  but  that  we  should  keep  back  from  the  dark 
world,  not  only  his  glory,  but  the  very  "Brightness  of 
his  glory ;"  that  we  should  conceal  from  a  world  filled 
with  the  most  revolting  and  hideous  images  of  Deity, 
''the  Express  Image  of  his  person" — this  is  to  put  a 
slight  on  the  character  and  work  of  Christ,  which  he 
cannot  away  with ;  that  we  should  have  seen  the 
Cross  of  Christ,  and  should  yet  have  allowed  the 
world  to  go  on  offering  its  human  and  other  sacri- 
fices, as  if  he  had  not  "died  once  for  all;"  that 
we  should  have  held  his  Gospel  in  our  hands,  and 
yet  have  allowed  a  thousand  impostors  and  demons  to 
publish  their  Shastres  and  Korans  instead ;  that  we 
should  "  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ," 
grace  so  amazing  that  it  is  ever  receiving  inefiable 
expressions  of  the  Father's  complacency,  and  filling  all 
heaven  with  praise,  and  yet  that  we  should  account  it 
hardly  worth  reporting — this  is  to  "wound  the  Father 
through  the  Son ;"  and  that  we  should  act  thus,  know- 
ing as  we  do  how  the  heart  of  God  is  set  on  the  glory 
of  Christ,  the  height  to  w^hich  he  has  exalted  him, 
and  the  promises  of  universal  dominion  and  homage 
he  has  made  to  him — this  is  not  merely  to  dishonour 
Infinite  Majesty,  but,  what  is  incomparably  worse, 
to  inflict  a  wound  on  the  very  heart  of  Infinite  Love. 

Or  can  we,  finally,  remember  what  is  to  be  the  end  of 
the  whole  mediatorial  economy — that  it  is  to  redound 
"to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  grace" — without  feel- 
ing that  to  do  any  thing  less  than  the  utmost  in  our 
power  to  hasten  the  great  consummation,  is  to  publish 
our  guilty  indifference  concerning  it  ?  It  is  impossible 
even  now  for  the  true  Christian  to  hear  of  a  single  rebel 


466  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

submitting  to  God,  and  being  brought  back  into  harmony 
with  the  holy  universe  without  rejoicing  in  the  honour 
which  it  brings  to  God.  The  very  angels  rejoice  on 
account  of  it  in  the  presence  of  God.  They  see  so 
many  laws  harmonized  by  it,  so  many  claims  satisfied, 
so  much  glory  reflected  on  every  attribute  of  the 
Triune  God,  that  they  rehearse  for  the  last  great 
chorus  of  the  universe.  But  if  the  recovery  to  God  of 
a  single  sinner  redounds  so  greatly  to  his  praise,  what 
will  be  the  glory  accruing  to  him  from  a  recovered 
world  ?  In  some  respects  he  will  be  honoured  more  by 
the  obedience  of  earth,  than  by  the  homage  of  heaven. 
There,  his  glory  has  never  been  obscured  ;  here  it  has 
suffered  a  long  and  dreadful  eclipse  ;  when,  therefore,  it 
shall  again  irradiate  the  world,  w^ell  may  the  unfallen 
before  the  throne  exclaim,  "  Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the 
Lord  God  of  hosts  ;  the  whole  earth  is  full  of  his  glory  !" 
When  in  defiance  of  the  machinations  of  the  prince  of 
darkness,  and  the  mighty  depravity  of  man,  the  empire 
of  grace  shall  be  every  where  triumphant,  what  honours 
will  be  recovered  to  the  blessed  God  of  which  he  has 
long  been  defrauded  !  When  all  things  shall  be  sacred 
to  his  name,  and  all  hearts  reflecting  his  image,  what 
expressions  of  his  purity  and  love  will  be  poured  over 
the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea  !  How  will  the 
mountains  echo  it  to  the  valleys,  and  the  valleys  roll  it 
back  again  to  the  mountains,  that  even  here  at  length 
''  the  Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth.''^  How  will  one 
continent  proclaim  it  to  another,  and  the  ocean  waft  it 
to  the  main,  that  "  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  have  be- 
come the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  his  Christ !"  And 
when  it  shall  be  distinctly  seen  that  from  first  to  last 
the  recovery  of  the  world  was  entirely  owing,  through 
every  stage  and  every  step,  to  his  boundless  grace,  what 
ascriptions  of  honour  will  the  assembled  and  admiring 
universe  pour  forth,  like  the  sound  of  many  waters,  to 
God  and  to  the  Lamb  ! 

Now    is    it   possible   for   us    to  know   that   for   that 
glory  he   is   waiting;   that  his   Church   is   constituted 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  467 

expressly  to  promote  it ;  and  that  he  is  looking  to 
every  member  of  that  Church  to  hasten  its  arrival, 
without  feeling  ourselves  called  on  individually  to  put 
forth  all  our  energies  for  its  speedy  consummation  ? 
Can  any  object  in  the  universe  be  so  momentous  as  the 
vindication  of  the  Divine  character,  and  the  completion 
of  the  Divine  glory  ?  All  other  interests  compared 
with  it,  are  lighter  than  notliing  and  vanity.  Compared 
with  this,  nothing  is  sacred,  great,  or  precious.  At 
the  least  signal,  all  heaven  would  rush  together  for  its 
vindication ;  every  holy  intelligence  become  a  champion 
in  its  behalf.  And  is  it  possible,  that  though  the  vin- 
dication of  his  glory  has  in  an  important  sense  been 
given  into  our  charge — and  though  all  the  world  is 
denying  his  existence,  aspersing  his  name,  or  usurping 
his  rights,  yet  on  turning  his  eyes  from  that  great 
spectacle  of  blasphemy,  to  see  what  his  Church  is  doing 
for  its  abatement,  he  should  find  us  conniving  at  it, 
and,  by  our  conduct,  confirming  it  ^  Is  it  possible 
that  the  least  stain  cast  upon  our  own  name,  should 
arm  our  every  power  for  its  vindication,  while  the  sight 
of  hundreds  of  millions  trampling  his  honour  in  the 
dust,  and  labouring  in  mad  enmity  to  extinguish  the 
last  ray  of  his  glory,  should  yet  leave  us  calmly  to  give 
nearly  all  our  time  and  attention  to  "what  we  shall 
eat,  and  what  we  shall  drink,  and  wherewithal  we  shall 
be  clothed  !  "  "Father,  forgive  us,  we  know  not  what 
we  do." 

But  not  long  can  this  state  of  things  continue.  The 
great  cause  of  the  Divine  glory  has  come  on  in  the 
heathen  world.  Ages  have  elapsed  since  the  Christian 
Church  was  commissioned  to  plead  that  cause  in  all  the 
earth.  Still,  however,  the  momentous  controversy  re- 
mains undecided.  But  God  is  giving  indubitable  signs 
that  he  will  now  bring  it  to  an  issue.  Every  minor 
interest  must  stand  by.  The  theatre  of  the  world  is 
clearing  for  the  decision.  The  Church  is  imperatively 
summoned  to  appear  and  give  witness  for  God.  To  us 
he  is  saying,  as  he  did  to  the  members  of  his  ancient 


468  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

Church,  "  Ye  are  my  witnesses,  that  I,  even  I,  am  God, 
and  besides  me  there  is  no  Saviour."  Christians,  the 
world  is  waiting  to  receive  your  evidence.  "  By  the 
mercies  of  God,"  will  you  not  go  and  testify  in  his 
behalf.^  Satan  is  witnessing  against  him ;  and  miihons 
are  crediting  the  revolting  testimony  ;  will  you  not 
hasten  or  send  to  testify  for  him .''  Atheism  and 
Budhism  are  denying  his  existence  ;  and  China,  one 
third  of  the  human  race,  believe  it ;  will  you  not  go 
and  proclaim,  ''  This  is  the  true  God,  and  eternal  life  ?" 
His  ancient  people  are  scattered  over  all  the  earth,  each 
of  them  still  with  a  veil  over  his  heart,  and  stained  with 
the  blood  of  the  Just  One  ;  will  you  not  beseech  them 
to  "  look  upon  him  whom  they  have  pierced,"  and  urge 
on  them  his  claims  as  their  own  Messiah  ?  Popery 
is  concealing,  imprisoning,  destroying  his  word  as  a 
dangerous  book,  and  embracing  an  image,  or  an  amulet 
instead  ;  will  you  not  enable  and  urge  its  votaries  to 
"  search  the  Scriptures,"  to  consult  them  as  the  "  oracles 
of  God  ?"  Mahometanism  is  denying  the  Divinity  of 
his  Son,  and  honouring  an  impostor  in  his  stead  ;  will 
you  not  attest  that  there  is  none  other  name  under 
heaven  given  among  men,  whereby  we  can  be  saved, 
but  the  name  of  his  Son  our  Saviour  ?  Hindooism  is 
affirming  that  his  name  is  Kalee,  and  that  he  has  given 
one  half  of  the  human  race  to  be  slaughtered  for  his 
honour ;  that  it  is  Juggernaut,  and  that  his  worshippers 
must  be  covered  with  the  scars  of  self-torture,  and  his 
chariot  grind  its  way  through  a  path  strewn  with  their 
prostrate  bodies ;  will  you  not  arouse,  will  you  not 
impel  others  to  join  you,  and  will  you  not  speed  to  tell 
them  all  that  "God  is  love  .'^"  universal  and  infinite 
love  ?  Shall  his  cause  have  only  a  few  friends  to 
espouse  it  ?  Shall  "the  Church  of  God  which  he  hath 
purchased  with  his  own  blood,"  find  few  tongues  to 
proclaim  that  that  "blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin.''" 

Followers  of  God,  his  cause,  your  cause,  the  cause  of 
a  deluded  and  dying  world,  is  before  you.  In  every 
part  of  the  world,  he  has  obtained  for  you  a  hearing,  and 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  469 

is  awaiting  your  arrival.  At  this  moment  he  is  saying  to 
his  Church,  to  every  individual  member — to  the  Chris- 
tian reader  of  this  book — and  saying  it,  not  for  the 
third,  but  the  thousandth  time,  ''Lovest  thou  me?" 
then,  by  the  tender  and  melting  considerations  which 
led  you  at  first  to  surrender  yourself  to  my  claims ;  by 
the  weight  of  all  the  obligations  under  which  my  grace 
has  laid  you ;  if  there  be  any  thing  in  my  gift  of 
Christ  to  excite  your  love,  any  thing  in  his  blood  to 
benefit  the  world,  any  thing  in  my  glory  to  engage  your 
concern,  awake  to  your  high  prerogative  and  office,  call 
down  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  let  every  creature 
hear  you  "testify,  that  the  Father  sent  the  Son  to  be 
the  Saviour  of  the  world."  Soon  should  "  my  name 
be  great  among  the  heathen ;  and  in  every  place,  in- 
cense and  a  pure  offering  would  be  ofl^ered  on  my  altar." 
No  longer  should  my  character  be  defamed,  my  govern- 
ment impugned,  my  designs  impeached  and  opposed, 
nor  my  honours  usurped  ;  but  every  where  would  my 
claims  be  brought  forward  to  the  public  view,  and  every 
where  should  I  be  acknowledged  as  "  God  over  all, 
blessed  for  ever."  The  earth  should  be  "  filled  with 
my  glory,  and  all  flesh  see  it  together." 

XIV.  Then  such  a  consummation  of  the  Divine  glory 
would  be  equally  the  completion  of  human  happiness.  In- 
deed what  but  this  constitutes  the  happiness  of  heaven  ? 
Conceive  of  the  will  of  God  "done  on  earth  as  it  is  in 
heaven,"  and  you  conceive  of  "the  days  of  heaven  upon 
earth."  The  last  idol  would  have  been  cast  away; 
and  the  last  rod  of  the  last  oppressor  broken.  Every 
government  would  but  execute  the  law  of  God,  and 
every  subject  would  but  obey  the  Gospel.  The  activities 
of  mind,  the  discoveries  of  enterprise,  the  accumula- 
tions of  wealth,  the  changes  of  empire,  the  revolu- 
tions of  time — all  would  be  seen  laid  at  his  feet,  and 
falling  into  his  plan.  Every  habitation  would  be  a 
house  of  God ;  every  occupation  a  holy  exercise  ;  every 
day  a  return  of  the  sabbath ;  for  whatever  was  done, 

40 


470  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

'*  would  be  done  to  the  glory  of  God."     Like  what  a 
sea  of  glass  would  the  universal  nciind  of  man  become ; 
every  where  pure  and  unruffled,  and  reflecting  only  the 
colours  of  the  rainbow  round  about  the  throne  !     What 
a  world  !  when,  compared  with  its  all-pervading  peace, 
and  loveliness,  and  light,  ''the  former  heavens  and  the  for- 
mer earth  shall  not  be  remembered  nor  come  into  mind." 
And  is  there  ground   to  conclude     that  this   sublime 
result   shall  be    realized  ?     "  The  mouth  of  the  Lord 
hath  spoken  it."     "I  have  sworn  by  myself,  the  word 
hath  gone  out  of  my  mouth  in  righteousness  and  shall 
not   return,   that  unto   me   every  knee  shall  bow,   and 
every  tongue  shall  swear."     At  what  precise  period,  or 
to  what  exact  point  of  perfection   the   result  may  be 
reahzed,  we  cannot  say,  and  are  not  anxious  to  know. 
Sufficient  is  it  for  us  to  know  that  the  time  shall  come 
when  the  world  shall  be  seen  prostrate  before  God   in 
worship.     And  then  will  it  be   clearly   perceived,  that 
this  has  been  brought  to  pass  as  the  result  of  all   that 
God   has  planned,   and    Christ   has  suffered,    and   the 
Spirit  has    effected.     The   very  mention  of  his  name 
then,  will  be  sufficient  to  bring  the  world  into  a  posture 
of  adoration.     They  will  come  before  him  hungry  for 
his  blessing,  languishing  for  his  Spirit,  coveting,  craving 
the  gifts  of  his   grace.     "  O  Thou  that  hearest  prayer, 
to  thee  shall  all  flesh  come  !"     They  shall  not  be  satis- 
fied to  enjoy  thee  alone  ;  they  shall  go  out,  and  with  a 
friendly  violence  compel  others  to  come  in,  and  share 
thy  favours  with  them.     "  It  shall  come  to  pass,  that 
there  shall  come  people   and  the  inhabitants   of  many 
cities  ;    and    the   inhabitants    of  one    city   shall  go  to 
another,  saying.   Let  us  go  speedily  to  pray  before  the 
Lord,  and  to  seek  the   Lord  of  hosts  ;    I  will  go  also. 
Yea,  many  people  and  strong  nations  shall  come  to  seek 
the  Lord,  and  to  pray  before   the   Lord."     Churches 
shall  come  to  adore  him,   cities  to  consult  him,  nations 
to    surrender  to  him,  all  the  kindreds  of  the  earth  to 
fall  down   before   him.     They  shall  not  be  content  to 
praise  him  alone;   they  shall  feel  as  if  they  wanted 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE,  471 

help — the  help  of  the  world — to  raise  a  song  adequate 
to  his  praise,  and  a  prayer  equal  to  the  ardour  of  their 
desires.  "And  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  from  one  new 
moon  to  another,  and  from  one  sabbath  to  another,  shall 
all  flesh  come  to  worship  before  me,  saith  the  Lord." 

Then  man  will  have  found  his  only  proper  place  ; 
will  have  returned  to  the  only  spot  in  the  universe 
which  becomes  him — at  the  feet  of  God.  And,  having 
found  his  proper  place,  his  ultimate  end,  there  will  he 
rest ;  going  out  of  himself,  and  losing  himself  in  God. 
Then  God  will  have  recovered  his  proper  glory  ;  every 
idol  will  be  abolished,  every  rival  power  cast  out,  the 
eyes  of  all  will  wait  upon  him,  all  flesh  will  be  seen 
staying  themselves  upon  him ;  he  will  be  seen  by 
the  universe  as  the  centre  of  a  lapsing  creation — 
the  support  and  stay  of  a  sinking  world.  Then  the 
design  of  the  whole  Gospel  constitution  will  be  com- 
pleted— " that  no  flesh  should  glory  in  his  presence;" 
every  thing  will  have  redounded  to  the  glory  of  his 
grace.  And  when  all  flesh  shall  thus  be  seen  in  effect, 
prostrate  before  God  in  prayer ;  what  will  it  be,  but  a 
prelude  to  the  worship  of  heaven  ?  What  will  remain 
but  that  the  whole  should  be  transferred  to  the  em- 
ployment of  praise  above !  Infinite  love,  ascending 
the  throne,  and  putting  on  the  crown,  shall  sit  down 
and  enjoy  an  eternal  sabbath  of  love  !  While  the 
myriads  of  the  redeemed  and  glorified,  casting  their 
crowns  before  him,  shall  ascribe  their  happiness  to  him, 
and  the  jubilee  of  eternity  shall  begin. 

And  is  such  to  be  the  end  of  the  Missionary  enter- 
prise ?  And  is  this  the  object  at  which  it  calls  us  to 
aim  ?  Christian,  where  else  are  interests  like  these  at 
stake  ?  Where  else,  amidst  all  the  enterprises  of  time, 
does  so  wide  a  field  stretch  before  the  view,  or  such 
momentous  consequences  await  the  result  ?  To  over- 
rate such  an  object  is  impossible ;  to  stand  aloof  from 
it,  or  even  to  regard  it  coldly,  is  enormous  guilt.  What, 
then,  is  the  amount  of  practical  interest  which  you  are 
taking  in  it  ?  Ask  yourself — is  it  at  all  commensurate 
with  its  mighty  claims  ? 


472  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

The  policy  of  statesmen,  and  the  projects  of  national 
ambition,  may  lay  wide  their  schemes  over  other  realms, 
and  subordinate  passing  events,  and  entail  the  fulfilment 
of  their  designs  on  their  successors  to  a  distant  pos- 
terity ;  but  here  is  a  scheme  so  vast  in  hs  sweep,  as  to 
subordinate  all  other  plans  to  its  design  ;  so  varied  in 
its  workings,  as  to  demand  the  strenuous  activity  of 
every  agent  in  the  universe  ;  and  yet  so  self-sufficient, 
as  absolutely  to  stand  in  need  of  none.  Need  you  be 
reminded  that  in  the  arrangements  of  that  plan  a  post 
of  activity  is  assigned  to  you  :  and  that  in  that  post, 
the  whole  of  your  sanctified  influence  is  laid  under 
tribute  through  every  moment  of  life  ?  Great,  indeed, 
is  your  guilt  if  you  are  acting  on  any  independent 
plans  of  your  own  ;  if  you  are  planning  for  any  thing 
but  how  best  you  may  blend  with  its  working,  and  aid 
in  its  accomplishment. 

A  mere  worldly  philanthropy  may  boast  of  its  gene- 
rous doings,  and  point  to  its  schools,  and  hospitals,  and 
humanizing  institutions — though  even  these  were  ori- 
ginated indirectly  by  the  influence  of  Christianity ;  but 
here  is  a  cause  which,  having  done  all  this,  would  yet 
hardly  count  its  work  begun  ;  which  scatters  these  minor 
blessings  as  it  advances  to  accomplish  a  good  infinitely 
greater  ;  which  can  point  to  ignorance  sitting  at  the 
feet  of  Christ,  hordes  of  the  wilderness  converted  into 
Christian  Churches  ;  the  worshippers  of  demons  made 
kings  and  priests  unto  God,  and  actually  mingling  in 
the  adorations  of  the  temple  above.  But  how  much  of 
all  this,  and  what  particular  part  of  it,  were  you  the 
means  of  originating  or  effecting  ?  And  what  are  you 
now  doing  to  augment  these  happy  results  ?  What 
source  of  tears  are  you  now  labouring  to  dry  up  ?  What 
particular  form  of  evil  is  now  engaging  your  attention 
and  filling  you  whh  concern  ?  What  object  engaging 
your  special  and  earnest  supplication  ? 

Science  may  talk  of  the  future,  may  promise 
largely,  and  be  sanguine  of  its  useful  results ;  but  here 
is  a  cause  which  makes  all  the  wants  and  woes  of   the 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  473 

world  its  own,  and  will  never  count  its  work  conplete 
till  they  have  all  been  removed  and  forgotten.  On  this 
cause,  all  the  treasures  of  the  universe  have  been 
lavished,  all  creation  is  groaing  and  travailing  in  pain 
together  for  want  of  it,  and  all  the  voices  of  heaven  and 
earth  are  urging  you  to  take  part  in  it.  What  are  you 
doing  for  its  promotion  ?  Is  the  utmost  extent  of  your 
instrumentality  in  its  behalf,  a  small  donation  in  money, 
and  occasionally  a  languid  prayer  ? 

History  may  record  her  eventful  eras,  when  all  the 
powers  of  earth  were  draw^n  up  in  hostile  array,  and  all 
its  interests  suspended  on  a  single  conflict.  Such  may  be 
regarded  to  have  been  the  case  when  the  great  question 
was  to  be  decided  by  a  single  blow  between  Greece  and 
Persia,  whether  freedom  or  slavery  should  be  the  future 
inheritance  of  mankind  ;  when  the  victory  of  Constan- 
tino determined  whether  Paganism  or  Christianity  should 
hold  the  throne  of  the  Roman  empire ;  when,  on  the 
plain  of  Tours,  it  was  decided  whether  the  Crescent  should 
prevail  over  the  Cross  in  the  west  as  it  had  in  the  east — 
whether  Imposture  should  drive  the  Truth  from  the 
earth ;  and  when,  on  the  event  of  the  Armada,  it  was 
to  be  decided  whether  Popery  or  Protestantism  should 
prevail,  whether  the  earth  should  belong  to  Christ  or  to 
Antichrist.  But,  here,  all  that  is  left  of  these  ancient 
elements  of  conflict  is  marshalled  anew ;  every  thing 
depraved  and  malignant  is  here  found  in  conflict  with 
every  thing  benevolent  and  holy,  and  the  issue  is  to  in- 
volve the  final  destiny  of  immortal  myriads.  Are  you 
conscious  of  having  caught  the  spirit  of  the  contest  ? 
of  feeling  how  much  may  depend,  under  God,  on  your 
single  arm  ?  and  are  you,  accordingly,  to  be  found  at 
your  post,  and  acquitting  yourself  as  a  good  soldier  of 
Jesus  Christ  ? 

Eventful  times  and  great  enterprises  may  have  pro- 
duced extraordinary  men  ;  men  whose  memory  biography 
may  have  embalmed  ;  whose  honours,  heraldry  may  have 
emblazoned ;  whose  likeness,  art  and  genius  may  have 
taxed  their  powers  to  multiply  ;  whose  fame  is  accounted 


474  MOTIVES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION 

SO  precious,  that  nations  may  have  charged  themselves 
with  the  office  of  guarding  it ;  and  the  youth  of  each 
succeeding  generation  may  be  taken  to  their  tomb  as  to 
a  shrine,  and  be  taught  to  regard  them  as  filhng  the 
place  of  a  glorious  ancestry,  urging  them  by  their  ex- 
ample to  an  emulation  of  their  noble  deeds.  But  here 
is  a  cause  which  has  ever  been  producing  men  "  of  whom 
the  world  was  not  worthy  :"  men  "whose  names  are  in 
the  book  of  life;"  men  "whose  praise  is  in  all  the 
churches,"  kindling  holy  enthusiasm,  and  who  by  their 
influence  are  reproducing  themselves  in  the  useful  lives 
of  others;  men  who  "though  dead  are  yet  speaking," 
speaking  together,  and  saying,  "Be  ye  followers  of  us, 
as  we  followed  Christ."  Are  you  heeding  the  exhorta- 
tion ?  might  it  be  fairly  inferred  from  any  thing  visible 
in  your  conduct  that  you  are  living  for  the  great  object 
for  which  many  of  them  cheerfully  died  ?  that  you  sym- 
pathize with  them  in  the  intensity  of  their  concern 
for  the  salvation  of  the  world  ?  Philosophy  may  boast 
of  her  martyrs,  and  tell  her  disciples  what  severity  of 
discipline,  and  what  untiring  patience  and  perseverance 
the  prosecution  of  her  claims  and  projects  require  ;  but 
here  is  an  object  which  demanded  the  actual  sacrifice 
of  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  which  is  ever  demanding  the 
unrelaxing  and  unqualified  devotedness  of  all  his  fol- 
lowers in  all  succeeding  times.  What  sacrifices  are  you 
making  in  its  behalf  ?  and  in  what  do  those  sacrifices 
consist  ?  Here  is  an  object  which  brings  you  into  con- 
tact with  more  than  prophets  and  aposdes,  and  which 
requires  you  to  imitate  a  higher  example  than  that  even 
of  confessors  and  martyrs.  By  summoning  you  "  to  the 
help  of  the  Lord,"  it  calls  you  to  act  at  his  side,  places  you 
under  the  notice  of  his  eye,  and  requires  you  to  "  follow 
his  steps."  Have  you  ever  been  seized  with  the  hal- 
lowed ambition  of  copying  his  example  ?  Are  you  as- 
piring to  win  from  his  lips  the  "Well  done,  good  and 
faithful  servant,"  which  awaits  each  of  his  devoted  fol- 
lowers, on  their  arrival  in  his  presence  above  ? 

Others  may  boast  of  comprehensive  designs,  and  talk 


TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  475 

of  final  causes  ;  but  here  is  the  Final  cause  itself — an 
end  so  great,  that  all  other  ends  stand  to  it  only  in  the 
relation  of  means — so  lofty,  that  there  is  nothing  higher 
— so  glorious,  that  every  thing  in  the   universe  is  hon- 
oured by  serving  it.      The  one  point,  the   sole  end,  to 
which  every  thing  in  the  government  of  God  is  tending 
is,  "to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  grace;"  and  to 
this  point  it  is  tending  with  the  directness  and  force 
of  a  universal  law.     Every  mite  given,  every  Bible  dis- 
tributed,   every    Missionary  sent   forth,   every   Church 
planted,  falls  in  with  that  stream  of  events,  and  forms  a 
part  of  that  vast  combination  of  means,  by  which  God  is 
reducing  and  restoring  all  things  unto  himself.     Even 
now,  the  agencies  of  Providence  are  urged  into  unusual 
activity — all    things    are    rushing   to    that    final    issue. 
Delay  to  join  in  the  march  of  mercy  ;  and  you  will  lose 
opportunities   of  honouring  God,   and  of  serving  your 
race,  such  as  never  occurred  to  the  Church  before,  and 
can   never   be   enjoyed    by  you  again.      Be  indolent, 
covetous,  self-indulgent  now ;  and  the  very  stones   will 
cry  out.     Continue  to  live  for  yourself;  and   the  uni- 
verse will  upbraid  you — the   perishing  will  point  at  and 
reproach   you    as    accessary   to   their  destruction — the 
Judge  himself  will  say,  ''I  never  knew  you."     On  the 
contrary,  be  faithful  now,  and  the  very  trees  of  the  field 
will  clap  their  hands  :  live  unto  the  Lord  ;  and  all  things 
.shall  live  for  you,  and  be  ready   to  serve  you   in  his 
cause ;  be   entirely  devoted  to  his   claims,   and   others 
shall  be  moved  by  your  example,  and  the  world  blessed 
by  your  influence,  and  Christ  himself  shall  rejoice  over 
you.     Less  than  entire  consecration  has  been   tried  for 
ages ;  and  the  fatal  result  is  to  be  seen  in  the  thousands 
perpetually    passing — passing   at   this    moment — to    the 
bar  of  God  from  regions  where  the  sound  of  salvation 
has  never  been  heard.     If  you  sympathize  with  Christ, 
then,  in  the  travail  of  his  soul,  you  will  from   this  time 
see  what  entire  devotedness  can   do  for  their  recovery. 
Moved   by   his  example,  you  will  look  through  your 
tears  on  a  world  perishing  in  its  guilt;  and  you  will 


44^  MOTH^ES  TO  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION,  ETC. 

feel  that  you  are  never  imitating  him  so  much  as  by 
self-denying,  painstaking  endeavours  for  its  salvation. 
Subdued  by  the  tenderness  of  his  claims,  you  will 
freely  acknowledge  that  you  are  not  your  own ;  that  the 
same  reasons  which  bind  you  to  do  any  thing  for  Christ, 
bind  you  to  do  every  thing  in  your  power,  and  to  do 
it  in  the  best  possible  manner  ;  that  you  are  bought 
with  a  price  which  might  well  purchase  the  entire 
dedication  of  a  whole  universe  of  intelligent  beings  to 
all  eternity.  Affected  and  engrossed  by  the  magnitude 
of  his  cause — the  cause  of  the  world's  recovery — you 
will  feel  that  to  throw  less  than  all  your  energies  into 
its  promotion  is  an  insult  to  all  the  momentous  interests 
which  it  involves.  Not  only  therefore  will  you  task 
your  own  powers  in  its  behalf — you  will  task  them 
partly  in  an  earnest  endeavour  to  move  heaven  and 
earth  to  join  you.  In  a  word,  constrained  by  his 
love  you  will  ''  thus  judge  " — and  never  can  you  be  said 
to  be  moved  by  his  love  except  as  you  are  thus  judging, 
and  laboriously  acting  on  the  judgment — "that  if  one 
died  for  all,  then  were  all  dead ;  and  that  he  died  for 
all,  that  they  who  live  should  not  henceforth  live  unto 
themselves,  but  unto  him  who  died  for  them  and  rose 
again."  Hasten,  then,  into  his  presence,  fall  dow^n  at 
bis  feet,  and  surrender  yourself,  and  every  thing  you 
have,  to  his  service.  He  will  graciously  accept  the 
dedication  ;  and  ten  thousand  ages  hence  you  will  be 
still  praising  him  that  you  did  so  ;  and  an  unknown 
number  will  join  in  blessing  him  on  your  account. 


INDEX 


A. 


Abraham,  holy  agency  of      .... 

Activity,  a  means  of  usefulness 

Christian,  final  success  of 

Agency,  Christian,  divine  origin  of 
true  character  of 

America,  Aborigines  of  .... 

American  Baptist  Board  of  Missions,  origin  of 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  origin  of 

Angela,  agency  of     .... 

holy  activity  of         ....  .... 

interest  of,  in  Christ's  mediatien 
sympathy  of,  in  man's  salvation 

Antioch,  conduct  of  church  at  .... 

Apostles,  conduct  of,  in  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel 

manner  in  which  they  understood  prophecy 
qualified  and  authorized  to  diff^use  the  Gospel 
travels  of .... 

Apostolic  epistles,  illustrative  of  the  spirit  of  Missions 

Arts,  the,  promoted  by  Missionary  efforts  .... 

Asiatic  churches,  injunctions  to  ....  .... 

Association,  principle  of  moral  ....  .... 


PAGE. 
85 
79 
319,  442 
93 
37 
301 
187 
187 
163 
118 
115 
116 
107 
104 
157 
97 
103 
111 
199 
177 
51 


B. 


Baptist  Missionary  Society,  origin  of    .... 

Basle,  Missionary  seminary  at  .... 

Biography,  right  influence  of,  on  Christians 

Boyle,  Hon.  R.,  Christian  zeal  of  .... 

Britain,  extensive  influence  of  .... 

political  state  of        ....  

temporal  benefits  of,  from  the  Gospel 

British  churches,  influence  of  Missions  on 

Britons  abroad,  influence  of  Missions  on 

41 


185 
186 
473 
183 
293 
435 
196 
238 
260 


478  INDEX. 


PAGE. 

Central  Africa,  present  elate  of              •...  ....  ....  300 

Character,  Christian,  elevated  by  Missions  ....  ....  ....  24S 

weight  of             458 

China,  present  state  of           ....            ....  ....  ....  293 

Christ,  anticipation  of  his  glory              ....              ...  ....  53 

character  of                 ....            ....  ....  ....  ....  460 

devotedness  of,  to  his  engagements  ....  ....  89,  125 

influence  of  his  advent  on  man     ....  ....  ....  ....  47 

intercessory  prayer  of                  ....  ....  ....  ....  160 

irresistible  claims  of,  on  the  devotedness  of  his  people  ....  126 

jealousy  of,  in  addressing  his  church  ....  ....  ••••  173 

kingdom  of,  gradually  set  up      ....  ....  ....  ....  161 

mediatorial  right  of    ....            ....  ....  ....  ....  445 

pity  of,  for  the  lost  world             ....  ....  ....  ....  160 

promise  of  his  presence               ....  ....  ....  ....  162 

satisfaction  of,  in  his  conquest  of  the  world  ....  ....  168 

Christian,  closeness  of  his  identity  with  Christ  ....  ....  97 

fitness  of,  for  usefulness          ....  ....  ....  ....  63 

motives  to  lead  him  te  activity  ....  168 

object  of  Christ  in  redeeming  ....  ....  ....  452 

prayer  of,  for  the  world           ....  ....  ....  ....  97 

Christians,  expectations  of  Christ  from  ....  ....  ....  91 

past  conduct  of,  to  be  retrieved  ....  ....  ....  426 

present  responsibility  of      ....  ....  ....  131 

their  means  of  usefulness      ....  ....  ....  ....  68 

union  of,  for  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel  99 

Christendom,  the  divisions  of                 ....  ....  ....  301 

Christianity,  influence  of,  on  individual  man  ....  ....  ....  56 

means  of  its  early  extension  ....  ....  ....  182 

temporal  benefits  afforded  by  ....  ....  193 

tendency  of,  to  form  society  ....  ....  ....  64 

Christian  influence,  prominence  of,  in  the  New  Testament    ....  ....  95 

instrumentality,  theory  of      ....  ....  ....  55 

labor,  impossibility  of  its  being  lost  ....  442 

Church  Missionary  Society, origin  of     ....  185 

the  completion  of  its  triumphs    ....  ....  ....  ....  456 

declineof  its  devotedness  and  prosperity  ....  ....  176 

Divine  displeasure  with  the  supineness  of  ....  ....  467 

duty  of  individual  members  of  ....  ....  ....  463 

increase  of  its  influence        ....  ....  ....  ....  122 

influence  of  unity  in              ....  ....  ....  ....  68 

Missionary  constitution  of    ....  ....  ....  ....  378 

present  transition  slate  of   ....  ....  ....  ....  439 

prosperity  of,  arising  from  activity  ....  ....  ....  1 75 

separation  of,  from  the  world  ....  ....  ....  65 

usefulness  of         ....            ....  ....  ....  ....  65 

views  of,  enlarged  by  missions  ....  ....  242 


INDEX.  479 

PAGE. 

Churches,  the  reformed           ....            •••.  ••••      303 

Civilizalion,  how  produced  by  Christianity  ....  ....  ....      199 

Clean  water,  how  sprinkled  on  the  Church  ....  ....  ....      155 

Colonization,  peculiar  to  Christianity      ....            ....  ....      290 

Coming  of  Christ,  scriptural  import  of  the  phrase  ....  ....      13S 

Commerce,  how  promoted  by  Missions,  ....  ....  ....      234 

Compassion,  a  mean  of  usefulness            ....  ....  — •            79 

Consecration,  Christian,  importance  of  ... .  ...•  ••••  372,415 

required  by  Jehovah  ....  ....  ....      462 

Consistency,  Christian,  influence  of       ....  ....  ....  ••••      457 

Conversion,  triumphs  of          ....  ....  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •      223 

Covenant,  new,  character  of  ... .            ....  ....  ....  .•••       153 

Creation,  anticipation  of  the  deliverance  of  ....  ....  ..-•        53 

Cross  of  Christ,  influence  of   ....            ••••  ....  ....  53,162 


D. 


David,  tabernacle  of,  its  reference  to  the  Church  ....  ....  ....  153 

Dependence  and  influence,  universal  law  of  ....  37 

Devotedness,  Christian,  examples  of      ....  ....  ....  ....  437 

importance  of ....  ....  ....  431 

Disunion  among  Christians,  evils  of      ....  ....  ....  363 

Dry  bones,  valley  of                ....  ....  ....  ....  152 


Edinburgh  Missionary  Society,  origin  of  ....            ....      1S5 

Education,  promoted  by  Missions            202,220 

Emulation,  Christian,  promoted  by  Missions  ....  ....  ....      240 

Era,  present,  the  commencement  of  a  new  ....  ....            441 

European  character,  raised  by  Missions  ....  ....      232 

Evil,  moral,  influence  of  introduction  of  ....  ....  ....        43 


F. 

France,  naturalism  of              ....            ....  302 

French  Protestant  Missionary  Society,  origin  of  ....  ....  187 

Future,  disclosures  of  the,  made  to  the  Church  ....  ....  ....  120 


G. 

General  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  origin  of  187 

Gentiles,  why  first  preached  to,  by  tlie  Apostles  ....  153 

German  Missionary  Society,  origin  of     ....  ....  ....  ....  186 


480 


INDEX. 


Germany,  rationalism  of       ....  .... 

Glasgow  Missionary  Society,  origin  of  ... .  .... 

God,  character  of,  pledged  for  the  success  of  the  Gospel 

eminently  glorified  by  Missions     ....  .... 

promises  of,  as  to  the  success  of  his  word  .... 

Gospel,  adaptation  of,  to  the  mind         ....  .... 

influence  of  its  success  ....  .... 

perpetuity  of  the  preaching  of  ... .  .... 

power  of,  illustrated  by  Missions  .... 

published  by  an  angel  ....  .... 

result  of  its  publication  ....  .... 

withholding  of,  dishonor  done  to  Christ  .... 

Greek  Church,  present  state  of  ....  .... 


....    302 

186 

140 

261 

140 

56 

138 

159 

257 

... . 

163 

.... 

459 

465 

... 

301 

H. 


Happiness,  human,  completion  of         ....  .... 

Harvest,  influence  of  Christians  on  the  moral        .... 

of  the  world,  how  reaped  by  Christians   .... 

Heathen,  awfully  dangerous  state  of     ....  .... 

not  to  be  neglected  on  account  of  the  state  of  home 
readiness  of,  to  receive  the  Gospel  .... 

Heaven,  how  fully  prepared  for  the  redeemed        .... 

the  heathen  prepared  for  by  Missions       .... 

History,  encouragement  given  by,  to  Christian  agency 
eventful  eras  of      ....  ....  .... 

Holy  Spirit,  agency  of,  in  the  Church   ....  .... 

given  for  the  di  ffusion  of  the  Gospel  .... 

glory  of  his  dispensation    ....  .... 

influence  of,  on  man  .... 

inflnence  of,  essential  to  usefulness   .... 

promise  of  his  influence    ....  .... 

promise  of,  in  connection  with  injunctions  to 

work  of,  to  glorify  Christ  ....  

Hope,  influence  of,  on  Christian  activity  .... 

Horsley,  bishop,  quoted  on  the  rule  of  prophecy    .... 
Humanity  promoted  by  Christian  Missions  .... 

Humility,  Christian,  vast  importance  of  .... 


....   loy 

98 

160 



331,  432 

347 

....   436 

118 

....    225 

284 

....   473 

... 

93 

... 

100 

....    142 

... 

48 

... 

70 

93 

iuty 

139 

94 

136 

... 

139 

... 

203 

.... 

....   374 

I. 


Idolatry,  abolished  by  Missions 
Impending  judgments,  usefulness  of     . . 
India,  early  Missions  in        .... 
present  state  of  .... 

Infidelity,  lessened  by  Missions 


216 
156 
181 
293,  313 
253 


INDEX. 


481 


Influence,  moral  power  of    ....  .... 

Christian,  constantly  accumulating      .... 

mighty  power  of  ... .  .... 

prominence  of,  in  the  New  Testament 

moral,  stimulated  by  sin       .... 

Instrumentality,  Christian,  theory  of    .... 

holy,  employed  by  the  patriarchs 


PAGE. 

39 
121 

275 
95 
47 
55 

85 


J. 


Jehovah,  love  of,  to  his  Church  .... 

Jerusalem,  conduct  of  the  Church  at      .... 
Jewish  economy,  adaptation  of,  to  bless  the  world 

Church,  a  type  of  the  Christian 

influence  of  ....  

separation  of,  from  the  world 
Jews,  awakening  among        ....  .... 

conversion  of,  by  the  Gospel  .... 

society  for  the  conversion  of,  origin  of 

Johnson,  Dr.  S.,  extract  from  

Judgments,  great,  overruled  for  the  salvation  of  the  world 


....       ... 

107 

d 

87 



88 

.... 

122 

.... 

87 

303 

.... 

151 

.... 

186 

121 

he  world  ... 

148 

K. 


Kingdom,  establishment  of  the  holy     . . 
of  Christ,  certain  progress  of 
gradually  set  up    . . 
Knowledge,  a  means  of  usefulness 


166 
157 
161 
71 


L. 


Laws,  institution  of,  promoted  by  Christian  Missions 
Laymen,  necessity  of  the  missionary  agency  of    .... 

Liberality,  necessity  of  increased  pecuniary  .... 

Literature,  promoted  by  Missions  ....  .... 

London  Missionary  Society,  origin  of  ... .  .... 


203 
399 
393 

228 
185 


M. 


Man,  dependence  of,  on  others  .... 

knowledge  of,  promoted  by  Missions 

Mediation  effected  by  Missionaries        

Millenarianism,  opposition  of,  to  Scripture 

Millenarians,  mistakes  of     

objections  of,  to  Missions  refuted    . 


232 
206 
133,  145 
1.35 
357 


482 


INDEX. 


Millennium,  Christian  expectation  of  ... .  

Ministers,  necessity  of  their  increased  attention  to  Missions 

Missionaries,  earliest,  sent  from  Britain  

Missionary  activity,  origin  and  history  of  .... 

efforts,  success  proportioned  to  .... 

enterprise,  summary  of      .... 

temporal  benefits  of  

information,  importance  of  the  diffusion  of 
Societies,  tabular  statement  of  .... 

influence  of  their  origin       

spirit,  existence  of,  in  the  early  ages 

existence  and  progress  of,  in  the  churches 

Missions,  benefits  of,  beyond  calculation  

Christian,  history  of  ....  

Church  constituted  for  ....  

conviction  of  the  Church  as  to  its  duty  towards 
evidence  furnished  by,  of  the  truth.of  Christianity 
importance  of  the  due  appreciation  of  .... 
in.luence  of,  on  the  increase  of  the  Romish  Church 

influence  of  science  on  .... 

motives  to  engage  in  

necessity  of,  to  precede  civilization      

not  impracticable  ....  

objections  to,  answered  ....  

obligations  not  lessened  by  want  of  funds  or  union 

peculiar  advantages  derived  from  

Protestant,  origin  of  ....  

providential  facilities  for       ....  

Morality  promoted  by  Christian  Missions  .... 

Moravian  Missions,  origin  of  

Mosaic  dispensation,  agency  of  .... 


PAGE. 

133 
387 
179 
177 

266,  315 
190 
192 
381 
189 
186 
179 
305 
213 
175 
321 
257 
255 
376 
177 
312 
421 
335 
332 
327 
353 
273 
179 
310 

202,  216 
184 
86 


N. 


Nations,  existence  of,  preserved  by  Missions 

Native  agency,  success  of    ....  

Netherlands  Missionary  Society,  origin  of 
New  creation,  the  ....  .... 

New  England,  Christianity  planted  in 


205 
277 
187 
167 
183 


o. 


Opposition  to  the  Gospel,  destruction  of 


165 


Parental  influence,  corruption  of  

Paul,  conduct  of,  in  reference  to  the  Gospel 


45 
104 


INDEX. 


483 


Paul,  self-denial  of  ....  ....  •••. 

Peace,  promoted  by  Missions  ....  .... 

Persevering  activity,  a  means  of  usefulness  .... 

Philanthropy,  worldly,  inefficiency  of  ....  .... 

Piety,  importance  of  an  increase  of      .... 

Prayer,  a  means  of  usefulness  .... 

increase  of,  on  behalf  of  Missions  .... 

need  of  a  larger  increase  of      ....  .... 

spirit  of,  prompted  by  Missions  .... 

Preaching,  importance  of,  in  the  conversion  of  the  world 
Property,  a  means  of  usefulness  ....  .... 

consecrated  by  Christians  to  Missions  .... 
Prophecy,  favorable  influence  of,  on  Missions        .... 

influence  of,  on  the  Church  ....  .... 

wise  reserve  of     ....  ....  .... 

Providence,  dispensations  of,  favorable  to  Missions 


PAGE. 

105 
223 

80 
472 
383 

82 
316,  c24 
405 
247 
158 

76 
246 
318 
133 
142 
433 


Redemption,  claim  of  ....  

harmony  of,  with  the  Divine  mind  .... 

its  divine  origin  ....  .... 

Relationship,  a  means  of  usefulness      ....  .... 

Religion,  cause  of,  but  one   ....  ....  .... 

Remedy  for  selfishness,  how  provided  ....  .... 

Renovation  of  the  world,  an  object  of  ancient  expectation 
Responsibility,  extent  of  moral  ....  .... 

Rhenish  Missionary  Society,  origin  of  .... 

Roman  greatness,  its  character  . .  .~^  .... 

Romish  Church,  influence  of  Missions  on  the  increase  of 
present  state  of       ....  .... 

Russia,  early  establishment  of  Christianity  in      .... 


449 

50 

49 

73 

241 

49 

159 

43 

187 

121 

178 

301 

181 


Sabbath,  observance  of,  promoted  by  Missions 
Satan,  conquest  of,  over  man,  .... 

subdued  by  Messiah  ....  .... 

Schlegel,  extract  from  ....  .... 

Science,  inefficiency  of  .... 

promoted  by  Missions  

Self-denial,  a  means  of  usefulness  .... 

Self-examination,  importance  of  .... 

Selfishness,  its  origin  ....  .... 

remedy  for         ....  .... 

Shipping  interest,  promoted  by  Missions 
Slavery,  destroyed  by  Missions  .... 


43 

43 

121 

472 

228 
78 

366 
44 
48 

235 
208,  214 

484 


INDEX. 


Smith,  Dr.  J.  P.,  extract  from  ....  .... 

Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  origin  of 
for  Propagating  Christian  Knowledge,  origin  of 
for  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  origin  of 

Speech,  a  means  of  usefulness  .... 

Stone,  progress  of  the  living  .... 

Swartz,  character  of  ....  .... 

Swiss,  the,  originators  of  Protestant  Missions 


PAGE. 

133 
183 
184 
184 
71 
165 
233 
183 


Tapu,  abolished  by  Missions  ....  .... 

Temple,  erection  of  the  holy  ....  .... 

the  ancient,  type  of  the  Christian  and  the  Church 
Truth,  evils  of  parti  al  views  of  ....  .... 

moral  influence  of     ....  ....  .... 


210 
165 
454 
360 


u. 


Union,  a  means  of  usefulness  . .  .■. 

Christian,  importance  of  .... 

Christian,  promoted  by  Missions 
Universe,  dependence  and  influence,  the  law  of 


82 


244 
37 


w. 


Western  Africa,  Mission  of  the  Friends  to 
Wisdom,  holy  increase  of     ....  .... 

Woman,  rank  of,  elevated  by  Missions 
Work  of  Christ,  relation  of,  to  man       .... 

World,  entire  conquest  of     ....  .... 

effect  produced  by  surveying  it 
moral  aspect  of,  favorable  to  Missions 
moral  state  of  ....  .... 

pernicious  influence  of,  on  man 
political  state  of,  favorable  to  Missions 
present  awful  state  of  .... 

result  ef  the  conversion  of        .... 


187 

384 

211 

47 

475 

455 

295,323 

462,466 

59 

288 

428,432 

465 

Young  men,  appeal  to  .... 


442 


Zeal,  Christian,  necessity  for  an  increase  of 


403 


MEMOIR  OF 
GEORGE  DANA  BOARDMAN, 

Sate  i^fssfonaro  to  SSurmnlj, 

CO>fTAINING   MUCH    INTELLIGENCE   RELATIVE   TO   THE   BURMAN   MISSION. 

BY  REV.  ALONZO  KING. 

NEW    EDITION- 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY, 

BY  A  DISTINGUISHED  CLERGYMAN. 

A  beautiful  Vignette  on  Steel,  representing  the  baptismal  scene  just  before  his 
death  ;  and  a  draicing  of  Ids  Tomb,  taken  by  Rev.  H.  Malcom. 

This  is  a  very  interesting  and  most  valuable  work,  and  it  has  been  well  said, 
that  the  Introduction  alo7ie  is  worth  the  price  of  the  Imolt. 

In  noticing  the  lamented  death  of  Mr.  iioardnian,  Mr.  Judson,  in  one  of  his  let- 
ters, thus  speaks  of  his  late  worthy  co-worker  on  the  fields  of  Burmah  : 

"One  of  the  brightest  luminaries  of  Burmah  is  extinguished, — dear  brother 
Boardman  is  gone  to  his  eternal  rest.  He  fell  gloriously  at  the  head  of  his  troops, 
in  the  arms  of  victory, — thirty-eight  wild  Karens  having  been  brought  into  the 
camp  ofking  Jesus  since  the  beginning  of  the  year,  besides  the  thirty-two  thai 
were  brought  in  during  the  two  preceding  years.  Disabled  by  wounds,  he  waa 
obliged,  through  the  whole  last  expedition,  to  be  carried  on  a  litter;  but  his  pres- 
ence was  a  host,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  accompanied  his  dying  whispers  with  al- 
mighty infl\ience.  Such  a  death,  next  to  that  of  martyrdom,  must  be  glorious  in 
the  eyes  of  Heaven.  "Well  may  he  rest  assured,  that  a  triumphal  crown  awaits 
him  on  the  great  day,  and  '  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  Boardman,  enter  thou 
into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord.'" 

Mr.  Mason,  his  worthy  fellow-laborer  among  the  Karens,  says: — "  I  have  been 
busily  occupied  all  day  and  evenins  with  the  examination  of  candidates  for  bap- 
tism, and  have  received  thirteen  Thus  the  work  of  conversion  seems  to  have  been 
produced,  by  the  blessing  of  Go  I,  by  means  precisely  similar  to  those  which  are 
ble.s.'^ed  by  revivals  at  home.  The  whole,  however,  is  to  be  traced  to  Mr.  Board- 
man's  first  visit  to  the  jungle,  in  1S29.  An  impul.se  was  then  given  to  Karen 
minds,  which,  I  confidently  anticipate,  will  never  stop  until  the  whole  nation  la 
converted." 

From  Rev.  J.  O.  Choules,  author  of  History  of  Misstons. 

I  have  read  the  Memoir  of  Boardman  with  great  satisfaction.  It  is  a  volume  of 
no  ordinary  merit,  and  will  compare  advantageously  with  any  .similar  production. 
The  great  charm  in  the  character  of  Mr.  Boardman  was  his  fervent  piety  ;  and  hia 
biographer  has  succeeded  admirably  in  holding  him  up  to  the  Christian  world  as 
the  pious  student,  the  faithful  minister,  and  the  self  denying,  laborious  mission- 
ary. To  the  student,  to  the  Christian  minister,  it  will  be  a  valuable  book,  and  no 
Christian  can  peruse  it  without  advantage.  I  hope  our  ministering  brethren  will 
aid  in  the  circulation  of  the  Memoir.  Every  church  will  be  benefited  by  its  dif- 
fusion among  its  members.  I  am  much  mistaken,  if  the  perusal  of  this  volume 
does  not  lead  some  youthful  members  of  our  churches  to  look  with  an  eye  of  pity 
on  the  wastes  of  Paganism,  and  cry,  "  Here  am  I,  send  me." 

Yours,  (fee,  John  O.  Choi/ues. 

From  Rev.  Baron  Stoic. 

Messrs.  Gould,  Kendall  &  Lincoln, — No  one  can  read  the  Memoir  of  Boaraman, 
without  feeling  that  the  religion  of  Christ  is  suited  to  purify  the  affections,  exalt 
the  purposes,  and  give  energy  to  the  character.  Mr.  Boardman  was  a  man  of  rare 
excellence,  and  his  biographer,  by  a  just  exhibition  of  that  excellence,  has  reno-rcd 
an  important  service,  not  only  to  the  cause  of  Christian  missions,  but  to  the  ia- 
lerest  of  personal  godliness.  Yours,  with  esteem, 

Baeon  Stow. 


MEMOIR  OF 

WILLIAM  CAREY,  D.D., 

iFort»  sears  f^fssrortari)  fn  3xnlJia» 

BY  REV.  EUSTACE  CAREY. 

WITH   AN 

INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY, 

BY  FRANCIS  WAYLAND,  D.  D. 
WITH  A    LIKENESS. 

During  the  forty  years  which  Dr.  Carey  labored  in  the  missionary  cause,  he  was 
jnstrumenlal  in  the  publication  of  212,000  volumes  of  the  Scriptures,  in  forty  dif- 
ferent languages,  embracing  the  vernacular  tongues  of  at  least  27,000,000  of  the- 
human  race,  besides  performing  other  labors,  the  enumeration  of  which  would 
seem  almost  incredible. 

The  work  is  done  with  modesty  and  good  sense,  and  is  written  with  piety,  can- 
dor and  simplicity.  The  author  rarely  indulges  his  imagination,  and  seldom  di- 
verges from  the  plain  path  of  beaten  narrative.  Whatever  he  says  may  be  relied 
on  with  confidence,  and  will  be  perused  with  interest.  We  would  gladly  have  had 
more,  but  we  are  thankful  that  we  have  so  much. — Introductory  Essay. 

From  the  Baptist  Record. 

This  is  a  work  of  surpassing  interest,  which  no  Christian  can  read  without 
profit.  The  mechanical  execution  is  excellent,  and  reflects  much  credit  on  the 
enterprisingpublishers.  They  have  given  to  the  American  publican  imperisha- 
ble work,  that  will  be  perused  with  intense  interest  by  generations  yet  unborn. 

We  have  seldom  if  ever  read  a  book,  which  has  impressed  us  with  such  a  con- 
viction of  the  importance  of  its  beine  most  extensively  circulated.  With  the 
Memoir  of  nurown  Mrs.  Judson,  it  ought  to  have  a  place  in  every  family  and  in 
every  library.  No  person  need  have  any  fears  of  sacrificing  his  properly  when  he 
buys  this  book.  He  will  find  more  than  an  equivalent  for  his  money  in  one  hour's 
perusal  of  its  delicious  pages. 

From  Zion's  Herald. 

The  compiler  observes  in  his  Preface,  that  his  endeavor  has  been  to  exhibit  the 
Christian  and  the  missionary,  rather  than  the  scholar.  We  think  he  has  succeed- 
ed. It  is  in  the  character  of  a  Christian  missionary  that  Dr.  Carey  pre-eminently 
shines.  Although  he  was  not  the  first  Christian  missionary  to  India,  yet  in  many 
respects  he  was  the  pioneer.  It  was  through  his  labors,  under  the  blessingof  God, 
that  a  character  and  stability  were  given  to  missionary  o])erationa  in  India,  which- 
have  justly  made  them  the  admiration  of  the  Christian  world. 

Fro77i  the  Richmond  Religious  Herald. 

The  name  of  Carey  awakens  feelings  of  the  most  interesting  character  in  the 
mind  of  every  reflecting  Christian,  whose  heart  is  alive  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom  on  earth,  and  who  longs  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  a  perish- 
ing world.  The  life  of  the  founder  of  modern  missions,  the  pioneer  in  those  efforts 
which,  we  believe,  are  destined  to  fill  the  whole  earth  with  the  glory  of  God,  and 
to  cause  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  to  become  the  kingdoms  of  the  Lord,  cannot 
be  perused  with  ordinary  emotions,  nor  without  feelings  of  devout  gratitude  that 
God  was  pleased  in  his  own  time  to  raise  up  an  instrument  so  well  qualified  for 
the  mighiy  undertaking. 


MEMOIR  OF 

ANN   H.   JUDSON, 

2Late  l^fssfoiiars  to  3Suvma|), 

SNCLUDING  A  HISTORY   OF  THE   AM.    BAPTIST  MISSION   IN    THE    BURMAN     EMPIRE. 

BY  JAMES  D.  KNOWLES. 

A    NEW   EDITION. 

With  a  continuation  of  the  History  of  the  mission  down  to  the 
presejit  year. 

The  sale  of  nearly  thirty  thousand  copies  of  this  book  in  the  United  States,  be- 
sifles  several  editions  in  England,  is  a  gratifying  evidence  of  the  public  approba- 
tion. It  has  been  printed  in  French,  and  has  also  been  translated  into  the  German 
language,  by  Rev.  F.G.  Oncken.  The  testimony  of  that  individual,  whose  judg- 
ment m  this  case  is  of  the  greatest  value' — Mr.  Judson — is  here  added.  In  a  letter 
to  the  author,  dated  at  Maulmain,  Dec.  21,  1S29,  he  says  :  "  In  regard  to  the  Me- 
moir, it  becomes  not  me  to  expatiate.  I  would  only  say  that  I  am  extremely 
Ratified — perhaps  too  much  so — with  the  execution  of  the  work  in  all  its  j)arts." 
The  history  of  the  mission  was  continued,  by  the  author,  after  the  death  of  Mrs. 
Judson,  and,  by  another  hand,  has  been  brought  down  to  the  present  time.  This 
portion  is  contained  in  an  Appendix,  and  is  arranged  under  the  head  of  the 
respective  stations.  The  statements  are  necessarily  brief;  but  it  is  believed  that 
they  contain  all  the  important  facts. 

This  interesting  work  is  now  up  in  improved  style,  and  will  make  a  "  C/yit,"' 
much  superior  to  any  annual ;  the  embellishments  being  elegant  and  appropriate, 
and  the  reading  matter,  which  is  of  the  most  mteresting  and  improving  character, 
mal<es  it  one  of  the  most  desirable  presents  to  a  "  Young  Christian  "  thai  can  be 
found. 

From  the  American  Traveller. 

We  are  particularly  gratified  to  perceive  a  new  edition  of  the  Memoirs  of  Mrs. 
Judson.  She  was  an  honor  to  our  country — one  of  the  most  noble  spirited  of  her 
sex.  It  cannot  therefore  be  surprising  that  so  many  editions  and  so  many  thou- 
sand copies  of  her  life  and  adventures  have  been  sold.  The  name— the  long  career 
of  suffering — the  self-sacrificing  spirit  of  the  retired  country  girl,  have  spread  over 
the  whole  world;  and  the  heroism  of  her  apostleship  and  almost  martyrdom,  stands 
out  a  living  and  heavenly  beacon  fire  amid  the  dark  midnight  of  ages,  and  human 
history  and  exploits.  She  was  the  first  icoman  who  resolved  to  become  a  mission- 
ary to  heathen  countries. 

This  new  edition  is  published  in  a  style  of  simple,  but  elegant  neatness.  It  is 
comprised  in  one  volume  of  about  400  pages.  We  would  recommend  its  general 
perusal,  as  one  of  the  most  original,  moving  and  useful  books  in  the  whole  range 
of  literature. 

From  the  London  New  Baptist  Miscellany. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  pieces  of  female  biography  which  has  ever 
eome  under  our  notice.  No  quotation  which  our  limits  allow,  would  do  justice  to 
the  facts,  and  we  must  therefore  refer  our  readers  to  the  volume  itself.  It  ought 
to  be  immediately  added  to  every  family  library. 

From  Zion's  HerakL 

To  the  writer  of  this  notice,  the  Memoir  of  Mrs.  Judson  has  proved  a  great 
blessing,  and  we  doubt  not  many  can  say  the  same.  Its  influence  will  tell  upon 
the  destinies  of  millions  yet  unborn  ;  for  it  is  by  the  missionary  spirit,  the  world 
is  to  be  evangelized,  and  the  millenium  ushered  in.  We  can  scarcely  take  this 
book  into  onr  hands  without  shedding  tears— tears  of  sympathy,  for  the  unpar- 
alleled  sufferings  of  that  amiable  woman— tears  of  joy.  that  she  is  where  thewick- 
ed  cease  from  troubling,  and  the  weary  are  at  rest.  Tears  of  sorrow  for  the  blind'- 
ness  of  the  heathen— tears  of  gratitude,  for  that  love  which  sendsthem  the  gospel. 
Tears  of  regret,  that  so  many  are  insensible  to  the  perishing  condition  of  the  pagan 
world— tears  of  thanksgiving  for  the  increase  of  that  halloVed  spirit  which  con- 
tinually seeks  the  good  of  others.  Tears  of  contrition  for  our  own  stupidity — 
tears  of  devout  praise  for  that  unchangeable  love,  which  though  continually  slight- 
ed, still  blesses  and  forgives. 


My  Progress  in  Error  and  Recovery  to  Truth; 

OR  A  TOUR  THROUGH  UNI  VERS  ALISM,  UNITARIANISM  &  SKEPTICISM. 
This  work  has  been  highly  commended  by  Prof.  Stuart  and  others. 

Onesimus ; 

Or  the  Apostolic  Directions  to  Christian   Blasters,  in   reference  to  their  Slaves, 
considered.    By  Evangelicus.     ISmo. 

Hymns  for  the  Vestry  and  the  Fireside. 

A  choice  collection  of  about  400  Hymns. 

Gesenius's  Hebrew  Grammar, 

Translated  from  the  eleventh  German  edition.     By  Prof  T.  J,  Conant. 

Campbell  and  Fenelon  on  Eloquence. 

Campbell's  Lectures  on  Theology  Pulpit  Eloquence,  and  Fenelon's  Dialogues  on 
Eloquence.  "Edited  by  Prof.  H.  J.  Ripley. 

Memoir  of  Roger  Williams, 

The  Founder  of  the  State  of  Rhode  Island.    By  James  D.  Knowles. 

Life  of  Philip  Melancthon, 

Comprising  an  account  of  the  Reformation.    By  F.  A.  Cox. 

Memoirs  of  Howard,  the  Philanthropist. 

Compiled  from  his  Diary  and  his  Confidential  Letters. 

James'  Church-Member's  Guide. 

Edited  by  J.  O.  Choules.    With  an  Introductory  Essay  by  Rev.  H.  Winslow. 

Travels  of  True  Godliness. 

By  Rev.  B.  Keach.    A  Memoir  of  his  Life  by  Howard  Malcom,  A.  M. 

Beauties  of  Collyer. 

Selections  from  the  Theological  Lectures,  by  Rev.  W.  B.  Collyer,  D.  D. 

Imitation  of  Christ. 

By  Thomas  a  Kempis.    A  new  and  improved  edition.    Edited  by  H.  Maloom. 

Female  Scripture  Biography. 

With  an  Essay  on  what  Christianity  has  done  for  Women.     By  F.  A.  Cox. 

Baxter's  Saint's  Everlasting  Rest. 

Fine  Edition. 

Help  to  Zion's  Travellers. 

By  Rev.  Robert  Hall  ;  with  a  Preface  by  Dr.  Ryland. 

Ripley's  Notes  on  the  Gospels, 

For  Sabbath  Schools  and  Bible  Classes,  and  as  an  Aid  to  Family  Instruction. 

Malcom's  Bible  Dictionary, 

Of  the  most  important  Names,  Objects,  and  Terms  found  in  the  Holy  Scripture* 

Abbott's  Scripture  Natural  History, 

Illustrated  by  numerous  Engravings,  and  also  Sketches  of  Palestine. 


VALUABLE    WOEKS, 

LATELY    PUBLISHED    BY 

LP,    [KIEKlPiaLL,    &    lLD[Nl©©iL[Nl, 

59   WASHINGTON    STREET,   BOSTON. 


THE    GREAT    COMMISSION; 

Or,  the  Christian  Church  constituted  and  charged  to  convey  the  Gospel  to  the  World. 

By  John  Harris,  D.  D. 

With  an  Introductory  Essay,    by  William  R.  Williams,  D.  D. 

Thoughts  on  the  Present  Collegiate  System  in  the  United  States. 

By  Francis  Wayland,  D,  D. 

My  Progress  in  Error,  and  Recovery  to  Truth ; 

Or,  a  Tour  through  Universalism,  Unitarianism,  and  Skepticism. 
^fCr  This  work  has  been  highly  commended  by  Professor  Stuart  aiid  others. 

ONESIMUS; 

Or,  the   Apostolic,  Directions  to  Christian  Masters,   in  reference  to  their   Slaves. 
By  EvANGELicus.     18mo. 

HYMNS   FOR   THE   VESTRY  AND   THE    FIRESIDE. 

A  choice  collection  of  about  Four  Hundred  Hymns. 

THE   BIBLE    AND   THE    CLOSET; 

Or,  how  we  may  read  the  Scriptures  with  the  most  spiritual  profit ;    by  Rev,  T. 

Watson  ;  and  Secret  Praver  successfully  managed,  by  Samuel  Lee. 

Edited  by  ''  >v.  John  O.  Choules. 

With  a  Recommendatory  Letter,   by  Rev.  E.  N.  Kirk. 

APOLLOS; 

Or,  Directions  to  Persons  just  commencing  a  Religious  Life. 

GROWTH  IN  GRACE; 

Or,  the  Young  Professor  directed  how  to  attain  to  eminent  Piety.    By  J.  A.  James. 

THE    GOLDEN    CENSER; 

Or,  a  Visit  to  the  House  of  Prayer.     By  John  Harris,  D.  D. 

THE    PRINCIPLE   OF    CHRISTIAN    UNION. 

By  Rev.  William  Hague. 

THE    CHRISTIAN    CITIZEN. 

By  John  Harris,  author  of  the  "  Great  Commission  " 


GESENIUS'S    HEBREW    GRAMMAR. 

Translated  from  the  Eleventh  German  Edition.      By  Prof.  T.  J.  Conant. 

CAMPBELL   AND   FEIVELON   ON   ELOQUENCE. 

Campbell's  Lectures  on  Theology  and  Pulpit  Eloquence,  and  Fenelon's  Dialogue^  on 
Eloquence.     Edited  by  Prof.  H.  J.  Repley. 

TRAVELS   IN   SOUTH-EASTERN   ASIA. 

By  HoAVARD  Malcom. 

THE     THEATRE. 

By  Rev.  Robert  Turn  bull. 

ESSAY   ON   THE    DIVINITY    OF    CHRIST. 

By  D.  Van  de  Wynpersse,  D.  D. 

A   NEW   GUIDE    FOR  EMIGRANTS   TO  THE    WEST. 

By  John  M.  Peck,  of  Illinois. 

Mammon Union Zebulon I-.The  AVitnessing  Church. 

The  Great  Teacher The  Great  Commission. 

JAMES'S   CHURCH-MEMBER'S   GUIDE. 

Edited  by  J.  O.   Choules.     With  an  Introductory  Essay,   by  Rev.  H.  Winslow. 

TRAVELS   OF   TRUE   GODLINESS. 

By  Rev.  B.  Reach.     A  Memoir  of  his  Life,  by  Howard  Malcom,  A.  M. 

BEAUTIES   OF   COLLYER. 

Selections  from  the  Theological  Lectures,  by   Rev.  VV.  B.  Collyer,  D.  D. 

IMITATION   OF  CHRIST. 

By  Thomas  a  Kempis.      A  New  and  Improved   Edition.      Edited  by  H.  Malcom, 

FEMALE   SCRIPTURE   BIOGRAPHY. 

With  an  Essay  on  what  Christianity  has  done  for  Women.     By  P.  A.  Cox. 

BAXTER'S  SAINT'S  EVERLASTING  REST. 

Fine  Edition. 

HELP  TO  ZION'S  TRAVELLERS. 

By  Rev.  Robert  Hall  j   with  a  Preface,  by  Dr.  Rylanu. 

1F©1SL     §M.MMM.TM     i(DIHI©(0)ILiio 
RIPLEY'S   NOTES   ON  THE    GOSPELS. 

For  Sabbath  Scliools  and  Bible  Classes,  and  as  an  Aid  to  Family  Instruction. 

MALCOM'S   BIBLE   DICTIONARY 

Of  the  most  important  Names,  Objects,  and  Terms,  found  in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

ABBOTT'S   SCRIPTURE   NATURAL   HISTORY. 

Illustrated  by  numerous  Engravings,  and  also  Sketches  of  Palestine. 

Hague's  Guide  to  Conversation  on  the  New  Testament. 
Lincoln's  Sabbath  School  Class  Book  and  Scripture  Questions. 

THE   SABBATH   SCHOOL   HARMONY. 

Containing   Hymns  and  Music  for  Sabbath  Schools  and  Family  Devotion. 


THE 

ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  Of  MISSIONS; 

A  Record  of  the  Voyages,  Travels,  Labors,  and  Successes  of  the  various  Missionaries 

who  have  been  sent  forth  by  Protestant  Societies  to  evangelize  the  Heathen. 

Compiled  from  authentic  Documents. 

FORMING   A    COMPLETE    MISSIONARY    REPOSITORY. 

Illustrated  by  numerous  Engravings,  made  expressly  for  this  work. 

By  Rev.  John  O.  Choules,  A.  M.,  and  Rev.  Thomas  Smith. 

Sixth  Edition,  Enlarged  and  Improved. 


INTERESTING  BIOGRAPHICAL  WORKS. 


MEMOIR  OP  ANN  H.  JUDSON, 

Late  Missionary  to  Burmah.    By  J.  D.  Knowles.     A  New  and  Enlarged  Edition. 

MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE   DANA  BOARDMAN. 

Containing  much  intelligence  relative  to  the  Burman  Mission. 
With  an  Introductory  Essay,  by  William  R.  Williams,  D.  D. 

MEMOIR  OE  WILLIAM  CAREY,  D.D., 

Forty  years  Missionary  in  India. 
With  an  Introductory  Essay,  by  Francis  Wayland,  D.  D. 

MEMOIR  OF  ROGER  WILLIAMS, 

The  Founder  of  the  State  of  Rhode  Island.    By  James  D.  Knowles. 

LIFE  OF  PHILIP  MELANCTHON. 

Comprising  an  Account  of  the  Reformation.     By  F.  A.  Cox,  D.  D. 

MEMOIRS  OF  JOHN  HOWARD,  THE  PHILANTHROPIST. 

Compiled  from  his  Diary,  and  his  Confidential  Letters. 


woi^cci  ©m  [BA[FTa 


JEWETT  ON  THE   MODE   AND   SUBJECTS   OF  BAPTISM. 
CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 

Being  a  Review  of  Professor  Stuart.     By  H.  J.  Ripley. 

HAGUE'S   EIGHT  VIEWS   OF  BAPTISM. 

HAGUE'S  REVIEW  OF   COOKE   AND  TOWNE   ON  BAPTISM. 

FULLER'S  DIALOGUES   ON   COMMUNION. 


^i^ILy^liLl    i©lMl©©[L    1@@11C 


THE  ELEMENTS  OF  MORAL  SCIENCE, 

AND 

THE    ELEMENTS    OF    POLITICAL    ECONOMY. 

By  Francis  Wayland,  D.  D. 
0:5=  Both  of  the  above  are  abridged  by  the  Author,  and  adapted  to  the  use  of  Schools. 

ROMAN  ANTIQUITIES  AND  ANCIENT   MYTHOLOGY. 

By  C.  K.  DiLLAWAV.    Illustrated  by  elegant  Engravings. 
A  Selection  of  Lessons  for  Reading,  in  Prose  and  Verse.      By  E.  Baijley,  A.  M. 

PALEY'S  NATURAL  THEOLOGY,  ILLUSTRATED. 

With  Notes,  by  Dr.  Paxton,  and  a  Vocabulary  of  Scientific  Terms. 

•apmiJl    OILAi^    m©@lK    ©IF    ]^^^WIIiJv.lL    ^IEIIi®IL®(ll-¥  ^ 

Or,  the  Testimony  of  Nature  to  the  Being,  Perfections,  and  Government  of  God. 
By  Rev.  H.  Fergus.     Edited  by  C.  H.  Alden,  A.  M. 

BLAKE'S    NATURAL    PHILOSOPHY. 

With  Twenty-eight  Steel  Engravings. 

BLAKE'S    FIRST    BOOK    IN    ASTRONOMY. 

Illustrated  by  Steel  Engravings. 

BLAISDELL'S    INTELLECTUAL    PHILOSOPHY. 
EMERSON'S    SCHOOL    READERS. 


WINCHELL^S    WATTS. 

Containing  Twelve  Hundred  and  Twenty  Hymns,  for  Church  Service. 


THE    SACRED    MINSTREL, 

AND    THE 

NATIONAL    CHURCH    HARMONY, 

By  N.  D.  Gould. 

Containing  a  large  variety  of  Original  and  Selected  popular  Psalm  Tunes,  with 

Anthems,  Select  Pieces,  &c.,  for  special  occasions. 


Sptcunen  .of  tJw  Flai&s. 


■  I  Choiicii 


{^j  /-ry'A^ /"/^l  l<o  M/'    jc/i-^i^^  i^n     -y/ia/'a. 


ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  MISSIONS; 

A   RECORD   OF   THE 

VOYAGES,  TRAVELS,  LABORS,  AND  SUCCESSES 

OF  VARIOUS  MISSIONARIES  WHO  HAVE  BEEN  SENT  FORTH  BY  PROTESTANT  SOCIETIES 

TO    EVANGELIZE    THE    HEATHEN. 
Compiled  from.  Authentic  Documents. 

FORMING  A   COMPLETE 

MISSIONARY  REPOSITORY. 

ILLUSTRATED    BY   NUMEROUS    ENGRAVINGS    FROM    ORIGINAL   DRAWINGS    MADE 
EXPRESSLY  FOR  THIS  WORK. 


By  Rev.  JOHN  O.  CHOULES,  N.  Y.,  and  Rev.  THOMAS  SMITH,  LoxNdon. 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES  QUARTO. 


The  Publishers  would  invite  the  attention  of  all  interested  in  the  prosperity  and 
success  of  Missions,  to  this  valuable  icork.  The  present  edition  has  been  improv- 
ed and  enlarged  by  a  continuatio?i  of  the  work  dow?i  to  the  present  time.  It  will 
be  seen,  by  reference  to  the  recommendatory  notices  annexed,  from  prominent  men 
of  the  various  denominations,  that  it  is  free  from  all  sectarian  bias,  and  as  such 
is  entitled  to  the  confidence  of  the  Christian  community. 

The  work  is  printed  on  fine  paper,  from  handsome  stereotype  plates, — contains 
1228  pages  of  printed  matter,  and  thirty-six  splendid  steel  Engravings.  In  order 
to  place  it  within  the  reach  of  every  one  tcishing  to  possess  this  valuable  repository 
of  missionary  intelligence,thc  present  proprietors  have  determined  to  put  it  at  the 
VERY  LOW  PRICE  OF  SEVEN  DOLLARS  PER  COPY,— One  half  the  cost  offormcT  edi- 
tions;— making  it  one  of  the  cheapest  works  published. 


ORIGINAL    RECOMMENDATIONS     OF    THIS    WORK. 

The  plan  and  object  of  "THE  ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  MISSIONS"  having 
been  submilled  to  us,  we  beg  leave  most  cordially  to  recommend  it  to  the  attention 
of  the  religious  public,  considering  it  highly  calculated  to  extend  the  interest  which 
is  already  felt  on  behalf  of  the  great  missionary  enterprise. 


Rev.  RufusAndersoNjD.D.,  ^  See's  Am. 
Rev.  David  Greene,  (  B.  CF.M 

Rev.  Lucius  Bolles,  D.  D.,  ^   See's  Bap. 
Rev.  R.  E.  Pattison.  D.  D.,  (  B.  P.  Miss. 
Rev.  P.  Van  Pelt,  Sec.  Prot.  Epis.  M.S. 
Rev.  Wilbur FiSKE.D.D.,P7-csVFesC7n«r. 
Rev.  F.  Wayland,D.D.. Pres.B/otpnCT'n. 
Rev.  Daniel  Sharp,  D.D.,  Boston. 
Rev.  JB-  B.  WiSNER.  D.D.,  Boston. 
Rev.  John  Codman.D. D.,i)orcAfs?er,iJfs. 
Rev.  Howard  Malcom.  Boston. 
Rev.  AVilliam  Jenks,  D.D.   Boston. 
Rev.  James  D.  Knowles,   C  rj,,^,  j^.. 
Rev.  Irah  Chase.  )  J^'^f "  ^^f 

Rev.  H  ENRY  J.  Ripley,       (  Neioton,Ms. 
Rev.  Baron  Stow,  Boston. 
Rev.  William  Hague.  Boston. 
Rev.  Samuel  Cox,  D.  D..  New  York. 
Rev.  Gardiner  Spring,  D.D.,  New  York. 


Rev.  Charles  G.  Sommers,  Neio  York. 
Rev.  Robert  M'Cartee,  D.  D. 
Rev.  G.  M.  Matthews,  'D.Y).,NeiD  York. 
Rev.  Archibald  Maclay,  Neio  York. 
Rev.  C.C.CvYLER,!).!). ,Poughkeepsie.NY 
Rev.  Ezra  Fisk,  D.  D.,  Goshen,  N.  Y. 
Rev.  B.  Welch,  D   D.,  Albani/. 
Rev.  A.Kendrick,D.D.,  fla7?MV/on,iV.y. 
Rev.  A.Alexander,  'D.'D.,Pri7iceton. 
Piev.  G.  Livingston,  D.D.,  Philadelphia. 
Rev.  G.  T.  Bedell.  D.D..  Philadelphia. 
Rev.  AV.  T.  Brantley,  Charleston,  S.C. 
Rev.  Ezra  Stiles  Ely,  B.D.j^Iissouri. 
Rev.  J.  Breckenbidge.  D  I)., Princeton. 
Rev.  Luther  Halsey,  Pittsburg. 
Rev.  William  Nevins,  Baltimore. 
Rev.  RufusBabcock.D  B.Povghkeepsie, 
Rev.  John  Pratt,  Lit.  Inst.  Granville.  ^ 
Rev.  J.C.Young,  Pres.Cen. Col. Danville- 


Rev.  SpencerH.  Cone..  New  York.  \Rev.A.W.LELAi;D,D.'D.,Charleston,S.C 


The  History  of  Missions. 

From  Rev.  R.  Anderson,  D.  D.,  Secretary  Am.  Board  Com.  Foreign  Missions 
Missionary  Rooms,  Boston,  Nov.  8,  1837. 
The  History  of  Missions,  in  two  volumes  quarto,  by  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Smith  and 
Choules,  is  the  most  comprehensive  and  the  best  extant.  It  contains  a  rich  store 
of  authentic  facts,  highly  important  both  to  the  minister  and  the  private  Christian. 
To  the  former  it  will  be  an  invaluable  assistant  in  his  preparations  for  the  monthly 
concert  and  other  missionary  meetings  ;  and  in  the  family,  it  will  furnish  instruc- 
tive and  useful  employment  to  the  members  of  different  ages,  in  many  an  hour  that 
otherwise  might  not  be  so  profitably  occupied.  The  price  being  reduced  one  half, 
while  the  original  form  of  the  work  is  retained,  will  no  longer  be  regarded  as  un- 
reasonable. R.  ^.NDERSON,  Sec'y  A.  B'.  C.  F.  M. 

From  the  Secretaries  of  the  Am.  Bap.  Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

Boston,  Nov.  1837. 
The  History  of  Missions,  as  its  name  denotes,  is  a  narrative  of  the  means  and 
methods  by  which  the  gospel  has  been  propagated  in  pagan  lands,  beginning  with 
the  earliest  efforts  of  the  church,  but  presenting  more  at  large  the  origin  and  pro- 
gress of  the  principal  missionary  institutions  of  the  last  and  present  centuries. 
Being  derived  from  authentic  sources,  and  fitted,  by  its  happy  selection  of  incidents, 
to  cherish  an  intelligent  interest  in  the  subjects  of  which  it  treats,  we  hope  it  will 
secure  an  extensive  circulation.    It  is  worthy  of  a  place  in  every  Christian  library. 

Lucius  Bolles,        Solomon  Peck. 

From  an  extended  review  in  the  American  Baptist  Magazine. 

It  is  to  the  notice  of  all  the  community  that  we  introduce,  with  unfeigned  pleasure, 
this  work.  It  has  long  been  fell  that  multitudes  remain  in  comparative  ignorance 
of  the  origin  and  history  of  missions,  because  they  are  unequal  to  the  expense  and 
labor  of  purchasing  and  perusing  the  numerous  missionary  reports  and  magazines, 
from  which  the  knowledge  so  desirable  is  to  be  obtained.  The  work  contains  a 
large  number  of  anecdotes  and  illustrations  of  the  success  of  the  gospel,  and  ac- 
counts of  what  seemed  most  striking  in  the  manners,  customs,  and  religious  and 
political  systems  of  the  nations  to  whom  missionaries  have  been  sent.  In  all  cases, 
the  history  has  been  pursued  down  to  the  period  of  the  latest  information  from  the 
various  stations,  as  received  from  the  secretaries  of  the  societies.  The  engravings, 
many  of  which  are  extremely  fine,  add  much  to  the  interest  and  value  of  the  work. 
The  whole  is  in  all  respects  worthy  of  the  subject ;  and  every  friend  of  missions  will 
rejoice  to  see  a  record  so  honorable  to  the  missionary  zeal  of  the  present  age.  In 
this  notice,  we  would  express  our  grateful  thanks,  in  the  name  of  the  Christian 
church,  and  of  the  cause  of  missions,  to  the  generous  publishers.  They  seem  re- 
solved to  spare  no  expense  to  make  the  history  worthy  of  its  enrapturing  subject 
and  of  universal  encouragement.  The  work  is  not  sectarian;  but  each  society  is 
left  to  give  its  own  narrative,  in  its  own  way.  It  is  amply  recommended  by  cler- 
gymen of  six  different  denominations,— Baptists,  Congregational,  Presbyterian, 
Episcopal,  Dutch  Reformed,  and  Methodist.  If  all  our  brethren  would  obtain  and 
read  it,  we  doubt  not  our  missionary  concerts  would  become  scenes  of  more  lively 
interest.  We  beg  our  friends  not  to  deprive  themselves  of  the  pleasure  of  owning 
the  History. 

From  the  Quarterly  Observer,  edited  by  B.  B.  Edicards. 

As  an  important  work  is  now  completed,  we  take  this  opportunity  to  commend 
it  to  the  attention  of  all  the  friends  of  missions.  It  contains  a  great  amount  of  in- 
formation. There  are  about  1300  pages,  large  quarto,  furnishing  full  details  of  the 
missions  of  all  the  Protestant  missionary  societies  throughout  ihe  world.  It  is  the 
first  work,  within  our  knowledge,  that  comes  up,  in  the  extent  of  its  information, 
to  the  claims  of  the  great  subject  of  missions.  After  a  close  examination,  we  con- 
sider the  work  to  have  been  faithfully  and  accurately  done.  The  best  sources  of 
the  kind  which  London  and  Boston,  the  two  great  marts  of  missionary  information, 
possess,  have  been  put  in  requisition.  The"^  work  is  impartial.  There  is  nothing 
of  a  narrow  or  sectarian  rivalry  in  the  work.  It  is  full  of  interest  and  rational 
amusement.  It  is  strictly  a  popular  work.  Every  family  in  the  country  would 
find  in  it  a  large  fund  for  social  pleasure  and  intellectual  gratification  around  the 
the  fireside,  of  a  wintry  evening.  The  mechanical  execution  is  every  way  worthy 
of  the  subject.  The  type  is  large  and  clear,  the  paper  good,  and  the  illustrations 
nearly  all  engraved  on  steel,  combining  many  striking  portraits.  The  work  has 
been  brought  out  at  great  expense,  and  it  is  well  done  We  cannot  hut  hope  that 
the  publishers  will  be  amply  remunerated.  The  importance  of  the  work  can  hardly 
be  magnified.  To  all,  we  earnestly  and  confidently  recommend  "The  Origin  and 
JSistory  of  Missions." 


The  Histoi-y  of  Missions. 

From  the  Biblical  Repository. 
We  can  only  repeat  the  commendation  which  we  have  more  than  once  bestowed 
on  thfs  important  work.  In  this  edition,  a  number  of  additional  pages  have  been 
subjoined,  giving  a  brief  account  of  the  present  state  of  the  missions  of  the  princi- 
pal societies.  More  than  1200  quarto  pages  of  valuable  reading,  done  up  in  a  very 
attractive  form,  with  a  large  number  of  steel  engravings  and  other  illustrations,  are 
furnished  forserew  dollars.  Of  the  high  excellence  and  commendable  impartiality 
of  the  work,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 

From  the  Christian  Eeview, 
AVe  welcome  with  deep  and  unaffected  joy  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Choules's  "Ori- 
gin and  History  of  Missions."  We  devoutly  thank  God  for  a  work  which  so  fully 
and  happily  supplies  that  very  information  which  is  needed  by  all  who  would  intel- 
ligently love  and  wisely  promote  the  great  and  arduous  enterprise  of  the  world's 
conversion, — who  would  know  what  has  been  done,  and  what  remains  to  be  done, 
and  Vi^hat  light  the  wide  and  diversified  experi'encc  of  the  past  throws  upon  the 
means  to  be  employed  for  the  future.  We  feel  under  deep  obligation,  together  with 
the  whole  Christian  community,  to  the  gentlemen  whose  joint  labors  have  given 
so  valuable  a  desideratum  at  the  present  moment,  so  complete  a  "  Missionary  Re- 
pository," up  to  the  date  of  its  publication.  Other  works  of  a  similar  character,  it 
is  true,  existed  before,  but  on  a  very  different  scale,  and  the  most  of  them  quite  in 
the  rear  of  the  present  advanced  state  of  the  cause.  The  work  of  Mr.  Choules  is  of 
a  far  more  radical  and  thorough  character,  and  derived,  for  the  most  part  from  ori- 
ginal and  authentic  documents.  It  constitutes,  in  every  respect,  the  most  authen- 
tic as  well  as  the  most  complete  work  that  has  ever  appeared.  It  is  published,  too, 
in  a  style  to  which  nothing  that  had  previously  appeared  could  make  any  preten- 
sions. The  size  of  the  page  and  of  the  type,  the  quality  of  the  paper,  and  the 
number  and  elegance  of  the  engravings,  equal,  if  not  surpass,  the  most  splendid 
productions  of  the  American  press.  Indeed,  the  entire  appearance  of  these  large 
and  beautiful  volumes,  containing  together  more  than  1200  quarto  pages  of  close 
letter  press,  in  double  columns,  and  handsomely  bound,  is  well  fitted  to  give  to  the 
most  thoughtless  eye  an  impression  which  corresponds  well  with  the  dignity  and 
glory  of  the  enterprise  to  which  its  pages  are  devoted. 

From  the  Episcopal  Christian  Witness. 
The  materials  of  the  work,  collected  as  they  are  from  various  sources,  are  inter- 
woven in  a  lively  and  agreeable  style,  preserving  throughout  great  modesty  and 
candor,  and  a  truly  catholic  and  evangelical  spirit.  The  work,  in  short,  is  just 
what  every  friend  of  missions  has  long  desired;  and  perhaps  more  than  one  may 
exclaim,  with  the  lamented  Dr.  Bedell,  "  I  had  intended,  if  God  should  spare  my 
life,  to  prepare  a  history  of  missions;  but  (alluding  to  this  work)  how  good  is  God! 
it  is  done  already !"  It  is  eminently  a  rich  treasury  for  missionary  meetings,  and 
will  furnish  a  fund  of  information. 

From  the  Boston  Recorder. 

The  typographical  execution  of  this  work,  in  point  of  beauty  and  elegance,  is  not 
surpassed  by  any  publication  we  have  met  with  from  the  American  press.  The 
quarto  form  is  indeed  rare,  in  this  country,  and  perhaps  mother  countries,  in  these 
days  of  biblio-compression,  when  small  pages  and  small  type  are  used  to  accommo- 
date the  purse  at  the  expense  of  the  eyes".  But  here  we  have  a  noble  specimen  of 
typography,  a  generous  page,  an  ample  margin,  a  clear,  large  type,  double  columns, 
the  fi'rst  glance  of  which  charms  the  eye,  and  invites  close  attention  to  the  merits 
of  the  book.  When  we  have  taken  up  the  volumes,  we  have  laid  them  down  again 
with  reluctance,  and  only  as  constrained  by  necessity.  They  are  rich ;  replete  with 
instructive  facts  and  striking  incidents,  that  will  not  fail  to  leave  those  impressions 
on  the  reader's  mind,  whicha  good  man  loves  to  cherish,  and  with  which  it  must 
be  the  joy  of  his  heart  to  live. and  the  delight  of  his  soul  to  die.  But  it  is  not  a  mere 
repository  of  anecdotes;  it  is  a  continuous  and  well-digested  history,  in  the  main, 
of  all  the  missionary  operations  of  the  several  missionary  societies  of  the  world, 
from  their  commencement,  about  1730,  to  the  present  time. 

The  illustrative  engravings  are  finely  done,  and  add  not  a  little  to  the  intrinsic 
value,  as  well  as  to  the  ornamentof  the  work.  Forty-eight  distinguished  ministers, 
of  six  different  denominations,  "  beg  leave  most  cordially  to  recommend  it  to  the 
religious  public,  considering  it  highly  calculated  to  extend  the  interest  which  is 
already  felt  on  behalf  of  the^great  missionary  enterprise."  Among  these  ministers 
there  are,  among  our  own  denomination,  in"  Massachusetts,  the  Secretaries  of  the 
American  Board,  and  Rev.  Drs.  Wisner,  Codman,  Jenks,  and  S.  Holmes.    The 


The  History  of  Missions. 


American  Baptist  Magazine  affirms,  and  we  have  no  reason  to  doubt,  correctl7, 
that  '•  the  work  is  not  sectarian ;  but  each  society  is  left  to  give' its  own  narrative 
in  its  own  way."  Mr.  B.  B.  Edwards,  whose  judgment  will  be  questioned  by 
none,  and  whose  researches  on  the  subject  of  missions  have  been  more  extensive 
and  thorough  than  those  of  any  oilier  man,  remarks, — "It  is  the  first  work  within 
our  knowledge,  that  comes  us,  in  the  extent  of  its  information,  to  the  claims  of  the 
great  subject  of  missions.  After  a  close  examination,  we  consider  it  to  have  been 
faithfully  and  accurately  done.  It  is  full  of  interest  and  rational  amusement.  It  ia 
strictly  a  popular  work." 

From  the  New  York  Mercantile  Advertiser. 
It  is  not  the  province  of  a  daily  business  newspaper  to  enter  upon  a  formal  review 
of  a  work  like  this.  But  still,  after  turning  over  the  pages  of  these  large  and  beau- 
tiful volumes,  we  cannot  consent  to  pass  them  by  without  bearing  testimony  to 
their  high  value,  not  only  as  well-deserved  memorials  of  the  lives  and  labors  of  those 
little  bands  of  holy  men,  who,  since  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  have  been  en- 
gaged in  the  great  work  of  carrying  the  glad  tidings  of  the  gospel  to  the  heathen, 
but  also  as  repositories  of  a  vast  amount  of  historical  matter,  of  the  most  authen- 
tic description,  which  has  been-collected  during  the  prosecution  of  these  labors. 

tl3"  In  addition  to  the  many  other  notices  and  reviews  received  by  the  publishers, 
the  following  clergymen  have  given  their  individual  testimony  in  commendation  of 
the  work,  even  extracts  of  which  we  have  not  room  here  to  present. 


Rev.  D.  Dana,  D.  D.      C 

Rev.  L.  F.  DiMMicK,      <  Newburyport. 

Rev.  J.  Morse,  D.  D.,  ( 

Rev.  Leonard  Bacon,  New  Haven. 

Rev.  Joseph  Bennett,  Woburn. 

Rev.  John  A  Clark, 

Yiev.C.TRtLia.Sec.Mass.Home  Miss.  Sac. 

Rev.  Daniel  Crosby,        \  rharlestown 

Rev.  William  Phillips,  \  ^-^^^^es^own. 

Rev.  John  Blair, 

Rev.  E.  Otheman,  \  Maiden 

Rev.  A.  W.  McClure,  \  ^"''^en. 


Rev.  David  Brigham,  Framingham. 

Rev.  James  Wilson, 

Kev.  F.  A.  WiLLARD,  Louisville,  Ky. 

Rev.  J.  B.  Taylor,    ^  d-  ^^««^  t/>. 

Rev.  A.  D.  Pollock,  ]  R^^hmond.Va. 

Rev.  Jotham  Horton, 

Rev.  Jonathan  Homer,  Neipton. 

Rev.  Elijah  Foster,  Amesbury. 

Rev.  B.  Phinney, 

Rev.  Dudley  Phelps,  Haverhill, 

Rev,  Elisha  Fisk. 

Rev.  Sylvester  Holmes,  New  Bedford. 

Jl3~  A  specimen  of  the  plates,  showing  the  style  of  the  engravings,  is  appended. 


MALCOM    S    TRAVELS. 

TRAVELS  IN  SOUTH-EASTERN   ASIA; 

EMBRACING  HINDUSTAN,  MALAYA,  SIAM,  AND  CHINA; 
WITH  NOTICES  OF  NUMEROUS  MISSIONARY  STATIONS, 

AND    A 

FULL  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  BURMAN  EMPIRE  ; 

WITH  DISSERTATIONS,   TABLES,  ETC. 
BY  HOWARD  MALCOM. 
IN     TWO     VOLUMES,     12mo; 
With  a  superb  original  Map  of  South-eastern  Asia,  five  Steel- 
Plate  Engravings,  and  about  seventy  Wood  Cuts. 

The  work  has  received  the  highest  commendation  from  the  press,  and  the  best 
proof  of  the  estimation  in  which  it  is  regarded,  is  in  tlie  unexampled  sale  of  the 
work.  Near  four  thousand  copies  were  sold  within  one  year  from  its  first 
appearance.  In  its  mechanical  execution  it  surpasses  any  similar  work  ever  at- 
tempted in  this  country. 


Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  01093  2624 


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